Deal
by Readergirl37
Summary: Elena Gilbert makes a deal with an ancient god of death. She hadn't expected him to be so nice. Mythology AU Elejah. Fix it fic.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Inspired by this prompt by phantomrose96 on tumblr: Fic idea where a lonely person sells their soul to Satan to be their friend. And Satan just rolls with it until he realizes at the time of their death he genuinely likes them.

Since he can't renege on the contract he takes them to Hell and puts them in a high position of power. Demons hardened by millenia of torture now have to answer to a shy, self-conscious, quiet, depressed, lonely person who has unintentionally become Satan's #1.

I switched it up a little bit. This is set in s1, and Elena knows bits and pieces about the supernatural and knows the Salvatores are vampires already.

* * *

She wonders if it will work, she only took a year of Latin. She's not sure if she pronounced the words correctly, she followed instructions from an obscure website that looked like it was made during the beginning days of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

She closes her eyes like the instructions said, it wouldn't work otherwise.

* * *

She keeps her eyes closed, she had been meaning to do this for a while. She hadn't planned to do it now. She hadn't thought of her shaking voice and the mascara that had eagerly run down her cheeks. She wonders if he'll care. She wonders if he'll notice, or if he'll come at all. He's known to unpredictable. She had read up on the god she was summoning, there's almost eleven centuries of mythology on him. Some of the myths and stories disagreed with each other, but they all agreed on the oddest thing: his eyes. All of it, the stories and poems and myths all agree that he has intense brown eyes.

She waits a few more seconds, taking a careful breath. It feels like the air has shifted, it feels different somehow. She doesn't immediately dismiss it as wishful thinking, but she can't confirm it just yet either.

She hears an unfamiliar voice greet her.

"Hello there." The voice is intense, but soft at the edges. It's an old voice, she can almost pick up an accent, but doesn't. She opens her eyes and freezes for a moment. The god of the underworld, is standing there looking at her. Those accounts were right, those eyes of his are intense.

She's never felt so small in her life. He speaks first, and she notices that he's wearing a suit. He looks almost like an average businessman. Like a businessman who would be unfazed by millions of dollars, wears designer suits and could also be a model if he wanted to.

"You wanted to make a deal with me?" His voice is still soft at the edges, perhaps he did notice the mascara on her cheeks after all.

"I do." She tries to keep her voice steady, aware that she's not dealing with just the run of the mill supernatural. He's a god.

"What are your terms?" He asks and she tells him. She's willing to trade her soul for just one thing.

It's such a little thing, so many people take them for granted. She just wants one.

He presses, and asks what she wants.

"A friend." She answers simply.


	2. Chapter 2

He looks at her for a long moment, and she stays perfectly still under his gaze. He doesn't have to say yes, she's sure her soul isn't worth that much. His lips part, and she prepares herself for his answer.

"We have a deal." He says and it feels like the air has been taken out of the room.


	3. Chapter 3

He moves his hand, and a piece of paper appears in it. She can see the word contract at the top, followed by her name. He hands it to her.

"I'm sure you'll want to look it over before you sign." He says casually, like it's no big deal. It probably isn't to him, but she carefully takes it from him.

"I'll be back tomorrow night to see what you've decided." He says smoothly, and she nods, unsure if he wants a sign of confirmation.

"Goodnight." He says and she echoes him and then she blinks. He's gone.

* * *

The piece of paper remains in her hand, proof that it had worked.

She leaves the piece of paper under her pillow, in case someone comes in as she gets ready for bed.

As she does, it occupies her mind. She reads it a few times, to be sure she didn't miss anything. His terms are reasonable, but what she hadn't expected was for the terms to say that he was going to be her friend. She had just wanted a friend. She hadn't expected for a centuries old god to apply for that position.

Not that she minds, she's desperate for a real friend. The cheerleaders who she used to call her friends stopped talking to her after she stopped going to practice. It was just hard, she went from being at the top of the social pyramid to somewhere close to the bottom. It was a hard adjustment, no one at school had gone what she and Jeremy had gone through. All people could give was awkward apologies and glances. After so long, everyone stopped caring. Elena had become introverted with loss, she and Jeremy had withdrawn from being social.

Jeremy picked up bad habits and she just wrote in her journal. She couldn't remember a weekend she had stayed home the entire time, before her parents died. She wants to get back to being happy, wants to get back to who she was. But it's hard to do that when no one at school will talk to her and she's isolated herself to the point of absolute loneliness. Matt might have tried to be there, but when his mother came back and told him they were moving, he moved to the west coast.

She thinks about it, for a long time. The terms were clear. He would be her friend as long as she wanted him to be.

She wonders if a single friendship is worth her soul, but she's so desperate for someone to talk to that she decides that it's worth it. On top of being her friend, he's added something else. She's under his protection, and if he can help it, he'll prevent her death until she's ready to die.

It's worth it.

* * *

But then she wonders if she'll be a different person without her soul, if she'll become cold and heartless. Would he take it when they signed the deal, or would he wait until she died? She writes her few questions down, and writes in her journal. She explains her decision. She just hopes she won't regret it.

When she thinks of her classmates, she know that they aren't cruel people by nature; she has known them her entire life. They just didn't know to to interact with her. She doesn't blame them, her attempts to make conversation became increasingly worse with time.

She just wants a friend, and she can't do that with anyone already available. It's a rational decision, she tells herself as she yawns.

She falls asleep with the contract under her pillow.


	4. Chapter 4

She wonders how he'll be her friend, he does have to run the underworld after all. Will he look as he did as he appeared in her room, or will he look different? She adds the question to her sheet, and takes notes for the rest of class.

Jeremy barely notices anything anymore, but Jenna is astute.

She knows something's wrong, but doesn't push. She knows that if Elena has something she wants to say, she'll say it in her own time.

So they eat dinner and she pretends that school is fine, and escapes to her room to do homework and listen to music.

* * *

She has time to back out, she knows she has time to back out.

But instead of feeling the panic she usually feels before making a big decision isn't there. She's just oddly calm, and her choice hasn't changed. The music she's playing might help, she can't tell. She keeps her notes and the deal next to her as she sits on her bed and closes her eyes. She doesn't remember exactly when he showed up, if he'll come at the same time or not.

* * *

He arrives a few seconds before the next song begins, and greets her.

"Hello again." He says and she opens her eyes, the odd sense of calm stays with her as she looks at him.

"I have a few questions." She says and he nods.

"Of course." He says and he's standing, so she invites him to sit.

He sits on her window seat, his attention focused on her.

She asks her questions and he answers them. He will look younger, and enroll to be a highschool student. He can be in several places at once, being in school with her is hardly strenuous. He'll collect her soul when she decides it's her time to die, there's no rush. He asks if they have a deal.

She nods, and signs her name on the paper.

His name is cumbersome and old, barely pronounced correctly anymore, she remembers.

"What should I call you then?" Surely he isn't going to enroll with his long and ancient name, she thinks that it sounds like every teacher's worst nightmare. Not to mention it'd conspicuous.

He has to think for a moment.

"I had a name that my family once called me. The closest translation I know in English would be Elijah." He says and she looks at him with increased interest.

"Elijah." She says, rolling the name around in her mouth. She's never known someone named Elijah before.

She certainly hasn't known a centuries old god before either.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Elena." He says, it's rather late. She should get some sleep.

"Goodnight Elijah." She says.

"Goodnight Elena." He mimics, and she blinks. He's gone again. She yawns.


	5. Chapter 5

She feels energetic the next morning. She smiles at Jenna, who can't remember the last time she saw that was.

She doesn't prod at her niece for the source of the new behavior, which Elena is grateful for. She doesn't want to lie to Jenna more than she already has.

She goes to school early, taking Jeremy with her. She needs to figure out how to help him, she wants Jenna to help her stage an intervention soon. It's so hard to see her brother in the addict who dismisses her so quickly.

* * *

She can't blame him for acting so differently, she feels like the Elena everyone once knew and loved is almost a completely different person from the person she is. She wants to go back to being that person, but she's not sure if Jeremy wants to be who he was before. She can't make him, and she loves him no matter what, but his grades are starting to slip and it's only September.

She walks to her locker, close to the office when she sees him. It's Elijah, it has to be. Mystic Falls rarely, if ever, got new students. He's wearing a leather jacket and his hair is a little shorter.

His face is a little softer, but he's still recognizable.

"You've been assigned to show me around, since we have the exact same schedule." He says, a hint of a mischievous smile on his lips. He looks a little timeless to her. She could see him as a teenager or a twenty something, the way he looks now.

"You aren't wearing a suit." She notes quietly and he gives a little laugh.

"I am, technically. Just not here. Where's our first hour?" He asks, and it's almost easy for her to forget that she sold her soul for this, for him to be here. It's easy, somehow, to just talk to him. He doesn't mention her dead parents, who she's sure he's aware of.

* * *

She tells him what to expect with each teacher, and they coincidentally get new seating charts each hour. He sits next to her, in each class. People try to engage him in conversation, rudely interrupting Elena almost every hour. He ignores them and continues speaking with her each time. The relieved smile she gives makes him wonder how bad things were before she decided to make a deal with him.


	6. Chapter 6

They sit together at lunch and she asks him what he thinks of high school.

He replies that it's interesting, a definite change from what he's used to. She asks him what his usual day is like, and he almost answers before he sees someone walking towards them.

There's a football player asking him if he wants to sit with them, he could probably be on the team if he wanted to. Elijah dismisses him carefully, telling him he's not into sports and he's supposed to stick with Elena anyway. The football player doesn't take too much offense to that, and Elena's thankful.

He was friends with Matt, and she remembers being amicable to him. He was always fairly nice, but she never saw him without Matt with her. He seems to remember that too, and tells them it was nice talking to them. He returns to the football table, and Elijah then tells her that there's someone behind her.

"Hey Elena. Who's your friend?" It's Stefan, she discovers as she turns around to look at the source of the voice.

"Stefan." She says, neither of the Salvatores have spoken to her in ages, not since she told them she didn't want vampire drama in her life. She wonders why he's over, wonders if he can tell Elijah isn't human.

"This is Elijah. Elijah, this is Stefan." She politely introduces the supernatural beings to each other.

The younger man is a vampire, and he notes, with some amusement, that he's trying to protect Elena. He thinks Elena doesn't know that he's old and dangerous. Elena sought him out and made a deal with him. She knows better than the vampire does. Hilarious. He suppresses the laugh and is perfectly polite, as polite as the average teenage boy would be; but with more refinement.

"Where are you from, Elijah?" Stefan asks, and it's not like the entire cafeteria is listening to the conversation, not really, as Stefan sits next to Elena, across from him.

But they all know small towns have big mouths, and so Elijah answers with his cover story. Elena already knows it seamlessly, they would make good allies, he thinks.

"I just moved here from New York with my brother." Elijah answers, Elena remembers he can't sound so polished all the time.

"Elena's assigned to show you around?" Stefan prods. Elijah gives him a grin.

"Yeah, we have the exact same schedule, thank god. This town is small, but I still don't know my way around yet. I'd be lost without Elena." Elijah tells him and Stefan nods, digesting the information.

"I'll see you two around." Stefan says as the bell rings.

* * *

Elena swears internally, and plans the next note she's going to write Elijah. He has a few in his bag from each hour, and he suspects he'll have two more before the school day ends.


	7. Chapter 7

She explains almost all of the supernatural beings and happenings of Mystic Falls in a note, as class is starting. Their sixth hour teacher is getting ready to lecture.

She explains that the Lockwoods are werewolves, Stefan and Damon had said they smelled like them. Not that either of the Salvatores had much experience with werewolves, but she was fairly sure they were right. Then she moves on to herself. She's not a normal human, she's a doppelganger. She talks about how her doppelganger, Katherine, interacted with the Salvatores before she was trapped in some tomb underneath a church a few hundred years ago. Then she talks about the Salvatores themselves. She explains that they were human and turned by Katherine during the Civil War, and how that worked out. She explains that Bonnie's grandmother is a witch, but Bonnie hasn't really shown any interest in magic yet, last she knew.

If he's going to be her friend, he's going to need to know about the other supernatural people in Mystic Falls.

He tells her, in perfect handwriting, that he met the first Petrova doppelganger after she died. Her name was Tatia Petrova, and she was kind but completely different than Elena. She can't tell if she's relieved or not, as her hand carefully brushes his to give him the note once more.

He tells her that he met Katherine, briefly before she became a vampire. While all of the Petrova doppelgangers looked almost like exact copies of each other, they were all unique. Elena has scars the other two didn't have. They all set themselves apart from each other, in behavior and appearances. Tatia had wavier hair than Elena and Katherine, and he tells her he could get into physical differences, like the fact that Katherine is slightly shorter than Elena, if she wants to hear them.

She declines to hear the differences right now, it's a little overwhelming to think about. Something catches her attention, and she asks if he had met the Salvatore brothers when they died.

He writes back that he did, before they became vampires a few centuries ago. He adds that he appeared drastically different then, he's not surprised Stefan didn't recognize him at lunch.

She tells him that she's just thankful Stefan didn't recognize him. She can explain being around the local supernatural population, like vampires, werewolves and witches. But a god is different, a much higher level than the run of the mill supernatural that calls Mystic Falls home. She can't explain being in the presence of a god as easily as she could explain the presence of a vampire.

* * *

She feels a little bit better, she admits, when she's around other supernatural beings. She doesn't feel like she completely fits in with humans, but she doesn't have any benefits that come from being a supernatural being either.

He tells her that her blood has magical properties, but agrees that her status as a doppelganger would have been better with some perks.

The bell is about to ring, she signals, and they get ready to leave. When the bell rings, she leads him to their last class, and he follows. She asks if he wants to hang out after school the next day, Thursday. He agrees easily, and they pass by Stefan Salvatore in the hallway. He has an intense expression on his face, or maybe that's just his normal face, Elijah can't tell. He wonders if the vampire knows that he isn't a teenager anymore, he doesn't need to be quite so angsty.

* * *

Seventh hour seems to pass quickly, and he warns Elena that Stefan might be an issue. She replies that Stefan can deal with it, she doesn't actually care what either Salvatore thinks.

He grins at her, and she grins back. There's a feeling of warmth in her chest. Friendship, she thinks.

The day passes quickly, much more quickly than it did before his arrival. She writes down her phone number so they can text if he has a phone too. He pulls out an iPhone to her amusement, and she marvels at the fact that he really thought this all out.

He promises to text her after school, he might not be able to respond as quickly as he responded to her notes.

* * *

Jenna is almost suspicious, Elena's happy, happier than she's seen her in a long time. She debates what they should order for dinner. Jeremy had told them he wouldn't be home for dinner, it's just the two of them tonight.

"Does Chinese food sound okay for dinner?" Jenna asks, her phone in hand.

"Sure." Elena says, and her aunt asks how school was.

"Good. There's a new student, named Elijah. We have the same schedule, so we stuck together for the day."

"Is he cute?" Jenna asks, trying to fit the role of cool aunt. Elena rolls her eyes.

"Yes, but I just want to be friends with him." She says and Jenna nods. Crisis averted, she can't remember the last time she had to give romantic advice. She's just glad Elena's talking to her peers, she can't remember the last time she heard Elena talk about school positively. She can't remember the last time Elena talked about friends either.

"Can he come over tomorrow? I was going to show him around Mystic Falls. He and his brother just moved here from New York." Elena says as Jenna dials the number for their favorite Chinese restaurant.

"Sure. I don't see why not." She says, Elena isn't lying. She's enthusiastic that Elena has a friend. She isn't going to get in the way of that.

They eat Chinese food on the couch and Elena texts Elijah as Jenna decides on a show to watch.

* * *

They text, she keeps asking him questions about himself, shallow questions. Not too deep yet, things like if he likes tea over coffee or plays over musicals. It's like an asking game, and they both have to give an answer to the question given.

Finally, she can't keep her eyes open any longer, and she texts him goodnight. Her phone beeps a few seconds later with his response.

 _Goodnight, Elena. Sweet dreams._

She falls asleep with a smile on her face.


	8. Chapter 8

AN: I have no idea what Elena's schedule is, but I'm basing the lunch and hours off my high school.

* * *

Thursday is almost like a repeat of Wednesday, but it's different because Elijah raises his hand in history class. He politely corrects Mr. Tanner on an incorrect date that he had mentioned.

Elena's surprised. Stefan had done that once. Someone looks it up and confirms that Elijah's right.

Their teacher is annoyed, and Elena is more careful as she opens their note for the hour. Tanner talks about back to school night, and mentions how he wants to see all of their parents. Except Elena, he adds. He'll settle for just a guardian. Elena freezes for a moment and it feels like it did before. She's alone and it feels like everyone's against her, again.

* * *

Elijah carefully slips her the note and she looks at him. She has a friend. Sort of. She has Jenna and Jeremy. She's not alone.

But god, it felt like it for that moment.

* * *

The bell can't ring soon enough.

Elijah looks at Tanner for a moment after it does, and Elena notices it. She's the first one out, and Elijah is out after her.

* * *

"He's such a jerk." She says, as they walk to fifth hour.

"He is." Elijah agrees, and reminds her that she can't let their history teacher get to her.

"He won't be around much longer." Elijah divulges in their note for fifth hour. Elena is intrigued by this and asks how he knows.

Elijah admits that he can't say exactly, but they won't see him after the first football game.

She doesn't want to know if Tanner's going to die or move, but a sudden thought hits her.

* * *

She asks if he met her parents.

He tells her that he did, and they loved her quite a bit. He had to assure them that she and Jeremy were fine, and Jenna would grow into her role as guardian. Elena has to blink back a few tears, she can't afford to cry in class.

She asks what his parents were like. She's at an unfair disadvantage, she knows more about his family than she does hers, and she tells him when they hang out after school that she'll talk about them.

He answers truthfully, he had loved his mother and father once. Their names were Mikael and Esther. He had siblings, Freya, Finn, Niklaus, Rebekah, Kol and Henrik. After Henrik died, his parents did a spell to make them gods. They made them too powerful, and worried about what they had done. His parents tried to kill them. His siblings and he had fought back and their parents had died. His siblings lived. His siblings got different things to rule over. He's fairly sure she knows the rest, which of them got what.

She asks what his relationship with his siblings is like.

He says that he still speaks to his siblings, they have a week every year that they meet, it's one where he might not be able to see her.

She says that it's okay.

* * *

Lunch is next, and they have two hours to go. She asks which one of his brothers he lives with. He tells her, writing on the note from fifth hour, that he technically "lives" alone, in a house he bought.

Although, for his faked documents, he's living with his older brother, Finn. Elena nods.

The bell rings and they grab their books and go to sixth hour.

* * *

They pass notes all of sixth and seventh hour, and Elena tells him to meet her at her locker a few minutes after school gets out. She needs to grab a textbook for a test they have the next day.


	9. Chapter 9

AN: Body horror trigger/ quick warning after the line "Are you okay?"

* * *

They coordinated that Elena would drive them after school. He pretends to be busy at his own locker, carefully letting down the cheerleader who asks if he wants a tour of Mystic Falls. He waits a few minutes, and then sees Stefan Salvatore walk by without looking at him.

* * *

"Elena. I need to talk to you." She hears, and she closes her locker abruptly.

"About what, Stefan? I don't want to talk to you. I am not Katherine and I'm not going to pretend to be her for you or Damon." She says and he shakes his head.

"There's something you need to know, Elena." He whispers urgently.

She can barely hear him, the other teenagers trying to get out of school can't hear him. She balances the risks. If it's important, she needs to know. But Stefan might be trying to tell her something she already knows.

"About what?" She asks. Stefan always danced around things when talking. She wants him to hurry up so she can text Elijah to meet her.

"Elijah's not human." He says and he expects her to react in shock or disbelief, to defend someone she barely knows.

"I know. What else?" She presses. She wonders if he _knows_ , if he knows Elijah's a god and that she sold her soul.

"How did you-" He trails off. Elena is now seeking out danger and powerful supernatural beings. Stefan wonders if she likes danger, if she's oblivious, or if she's just a danger magnet for that. He wonders if Elijah told her or if she asked. He just doesn't want Elena end up dead in a ditch from playing games with more powerful supernatural beings.

"It's not important, just stay away from us. I know what I'm doing." She sold her soul for this. She knows what she did, she knows who she's passing notes to and giving smiles to. She needs Stefan to back off.

"Dating someone who's supernatural isn't a good idea for you." He tries to remind her of the one date they had before he told her he was a vampire.

"I am supernatural! And we are not dating, and even if we were, you do not get to tell me what to do. We went on one date, once, and after that your friend Lexi told me I was a Petrova doppelganger. We were done from that moment and you knew that. You and Damon have not, and never will, have sway or power over me. This is my life, Stefan. I'm doing what I want with it." Elena says and she sees someone walking towards them out of the corner of her eye. Elijah. Thank god. One ancient god of death, to be exact.

"Is everything okay?" Elijah asks, his voice quiet. Elena walks toward him and loops her arm in his, bag over her other shoulder.

"Yeah. It is. Let's go." She doesn't look back at Stefan, she just goes. She didn't mean to just grab Elijah, but she just wants to get away from Stefan.

He doesn't resist, and she knows with all of her mind, even the parts that are working over time and the parts that like to float away sometimes, Elijah is stronger. But he's letting her lead.

"Are you okay?" He carefully asks. Elena's been wounded enough in the past few days, he doesn't want to press too hard. He knows she can heal on her own, but he doesn't want to disturb anything that's healing. If she needs denial while things stitch up and get sorted, he's okay with that. If she needs him to talk or get coffee, anything. He's up for it. He just doesn't want to be the cause of her bleeding. Elijah doesn't want to be the one who makes her rip stitches.

He doesn't want her to be in pain, and especially not because of him.

He's only known her for a short time and she's already so endearing that he finds himself caring. He cares, but not because of the contract, his worry doesn't stem from that. Elena is a good person, and she is just that endearing. She's genuine, softhearted and strong.

"Not really. How much did you hear?" She asks, and he sees her shiver as they walk in the almost vacant parking lot, to her car. He takes off his jacket and hands it to her. She stops, and he stops a few steps behind.

"Don't you-" She trails off.

"Temperature doesn't affect me very much. And to answer your question, I heard all of it." He understood where her thoughts were going. Elena's a writer, but sometimes, she just doesn't know how to phrase things how she wants them. Especially questions. She carefully takes it and slips it on, zipping up the jacket as they begin walking again.

It's so kind. She's missed human kindness. She missed most genuine emotions. Stefan saying that Elijah wasn't human keeps trying to repeat itself in her brain, like the cd from hell. She wonders briefly, if hell is real. She silences the stupid repeated words and looks at Elijah.

"Sorry about that." She says as she unlocks her car. They're just a few feet away.

"Do you want me to do anything about that?" He asks. She shakes her head. Stefan and Damon are harmless. Mostly. She'll keep an eye on it.

He opens the passenger door and the next few minutes pass with getting out of the parking lot and out onto the street.

"Can we get coffee?" She asks, she needs something warm in her hands. She's not used to talking about what she needs or what she thinks will keep everything okay. But that fact slips out after she asks about coffee.

He nods, he tells her to do whatever she needs to do. He's just following what she wants to do.

* * *

She drives, and he listens to the songs she has playing in place of the radio.

She's better after she has a large coffee in her hands, and she admits that she probably won't finish all of it.

* * *

But they sit in her parked SUV, up by the falls. The heater is on a little, and she really doesn't need Elijah's jacket anymore but she keeps it on as she tries to explain her hard fall down the social ladder.

It all comes out, as she clutches the coffee cup in her hands, and really she doesn't mean to talk that much. She had no idea she had so much to say, but she remembers that she hasn't had anyone to really tell anything for a while.

She keeps talking, it keeps coming out. She talks about her parents, everything about them and how she's already starting to forget the little things. It's absolutely terrifying, she's already forgotten her father's laugh. She talks about her grief and how she doesn't know what to do about Jeremy. She hasn't brought it up to Jenna, but she resolves to do so as soon as possible.

She talks about her old friends and she talks about everything she can think of, and she only stops when her throat gets dry from talking too long. She takes a sip of coffee and finishes her unfinished sentence.

There's a moment of silence, even the music is quiet, it's in between songs on the CD at the moment.

Then she apologizes for basically just dumping all of that on him, and that she'll show him around Mystic Falls if he wants. He tells her not to apologize, that was a lot of information, but she wanted to tell him. He doesn't mind listening. Her phone beeps, and she looks at the message. It's a text from Jenna, and it's a lot later than she had previously thought. Jenna's asking if he wants to join them for dinner.

Elena asks, and he tells her he's up for it if she wants him there. She asks if he wants a tour of Mystic Falls another day. He tells her he doesn't need one, but if she wants to give one, he's certainly not going to object.

She nods, digesting the information. She warns him that Jenna's cooking is terrible and that they'll probably be eating take out or something that Jenna ordered from Mystic Grill. She also adds that everyone just shortens Mystic Grill to just the second word as she texts her aunt.

He tells her that he's ready when she is, and she takes her SUV out of park.

He begins to offer advice on what he can, and tries to make her feel better. She looks like she just took a lot of weight off her shoulders. It's not all okay, but it's out and he knows. She told someone.

* * *

Jenna is excited to see that Elena looks happy. She's going to ask her about Jeremy after dinner. They need to do an intervention before things get even worse. But she focuses on what's in front of her, and she tells them that she made dinner. Elena carefully points at the almost perfectly disposed evidence in the trash can when Jenna's back is turned.

They sit down, and Elena has already prepared him for everything she could think of involving her aunt. He's ready for the round of questions. He answers perfectly, and even compliments her on her cooking.

If he was boyfriend material, if he was human and she was perfectly normal, he would have passed Jenna's boyfriend test. But Jenna's grading him on the friendship test, and he passes that with flying colors. When dessert is over, Elena tells her aunt she'll drive Elijah home and be right back. She expects a little more resistance, she's going to be alone in a car with a very handsome and charming classmate. At least in Jenna's eyes, or so Elena had thought. Jenna tells her to drive safely and that she loves her wrapped in a temporary goodbye.

* * *

Elijah looks at Elena like she's a highly valued friend. If he was supposed to be a boyfriend, Elena wouldn't have brought him home so quickly or acted so at ease around him, Jenna thinks.

* * *

She drives as Elijah tells her directions, where to turn to drive to the house he is supposed to be living in. He tells her that she can text him when she gets home, and that they have an English assignment due the next day. She thanks him for the reminder, and wonders if he stays there or goes back to where he usually spends his time.

* * *

The drive back is quick, and when she comes back, she realizes Jeremy's late coming home from hanging out with his friends.

Jenna gently approaches the subject of an intervention, and they begin to work on the details.

* * *

When the planning is all said and done, Elena carefully tells Elijah what their plan is, and that she did the English homework.

They text off an on for a few hours while doing homework, and then they say goodnight.


	10. Chapter 10

She texts him before school, and asks if he wants to hang out that night. She's told him a lot about herself but she wants to know more about him. Friendships don't work if they're one sided. He agrees and she tells him she'll check with Jenna, but she's sure her aunt will agree to it. She gets ready and eats breakfast before she asks, but Jenna tells her it's fine. She trusts Elena not to get into trouble. Elena is being social for the first time in a long time and she has the sheriff on speed dial. Jenna tells her to just be home before breakfast the next day.

Elijah gives her this odd vibe, that he'd do anything to keep her safe. She might as for more details on where they'll be, but she's not going to stop Elena from trying to get back into the game of being social.

* * *

First hour is spent watching an educational video that's just review for what they know. It's too dark for Elena to do notes, so he waits until the next hour.

She asks him what he wants to do that night, in the second hour note. He offers his house for the activity of hanging out, unsure of what that entails in her mind.

She suggests a movie, dinner and just talking.

He can pick the movie and they can get food from the Grill.

He asks what her brother and aunt will be up to while they're at his house. She hesitates, but takes a breath and writes it down anyways.

She tells him that Jeremy is really struggling with his addiction. The fact that he has a crush on someone who's dealing with the same thing he is doesn't help. She encourages him and makes it even worse. Jenna's really worried and is trying to figure out what to do. Elena's worried. Her aunt shouldn't have to deal with this, and her parents would have known what to do. Having a doctor for a father would have been rather useful while Jeremy dealt with this.

But, Jenna's a relator and Elena doesn't know what to do. She wonders if he knows when Jeremy's supposed to die, or if he'll die of an overdose. She wants to ask but doesn't, and waits for his reply.

He weighs his options, and decides that he'll talk to his brother. He tells her he'll talk to his brother, whose name roughly translates to Finn. His domain is medicine. He might have something that could help.

She tells him she's going to hug him, if that's okay, before the day is over. That's huge. That's too nice, it's something she can't even accept. He tells her that Jeremy isn't going to die for quite a while, and that's what friends are for. They help each other out. She wonders what exactly she can offer him, she's not a centuries old goddess with magical siblings.

When they go to third hour and their teacher lectures, Elijah blinks occasionally, but she doesn't see any other sign of him being alive. She wonders if he has a pulse, but that sounds very rude to ask, so she resolves to see if he'll respond to her giving him the note in a few minutes. She just hopes he doesn't get called on while he's spacing out.

Just as she's about to pass the note, he's back. He looks at her and she lets out a quiet little sigh of relief.

He unfolds the note and she waits for his response.

He writes carefully, like he's actually paying attention to the teacher and is taking notes.

He passes it back to her. He was talking to his brother, busy in a different place. He tells her that he has something to give her brother, and explains the magical properties of it. It also has vervain in it, so she can tell him of that aspect of it. He'll be more likely to wear it then, Elijah assumes. If Elena doesn't like vampires, Jeremy probably doesn't either.

She tells him that Jeremy was usually a good judge of character, but that he didn't like the supernatural. Jeremy barely liked anyone who was supernatural, just as a rule. He hadn't liked the Salvatores for an instant, and Elena wondered if it was just the fact that they were supernatural or if it had to do with their personalities. Elijah responds that it was probably both, if Stefan was anything to go by, both he and his brother were a little too pushy. Elena wants to laugh but doesn't.

He hands her a necklace that has a metal chain, and a rough, black stone pendant. She puts it in her pocket, and they're both aware of the gaze of a certain vampire on them. Elena ignores it so Elijah follows her example.

* * *

Tanner's class is boring, and it seems like all of their teachers after third hour have decided that the best way to pass time during a Friday class period is to have a test. Tanner's smug face as he hands out tests does not improve Elena's mood.

* * *

By the end of seventh hour, Elena pretends to slump down on her desk after she turns in her last test of the day, writing in their seventh hour note that she's over tests. But at least they have just a few more minutes until school gets out.

* * *

Elijah tells her that he'll meet her at her locker again. She texts Jenna as the bell rings, to tell her about the plans she has with Elijah. Jenna would usually ask about meeting Elijah's guardian, but she's a little preoccupied with Jeremy. It's letting things slip and she's trying to get better about doing that, but she trusts Elena. She's a junior in high school, and in a year or two she'll be out on her own. Elena tells her that she has something to give Jeremy and then she'll be out of their hair for most of the night.

Jenna tells her that's okay.

Elijah meets her at her locker a few minutes earlier than the day before and she drives home with Elijah in the passenger seat.

She tells him to pick a movie and she'll call the Grill to order dinner.

* * *

Jenna and Jeremy are home a few minutes later and Elena follows her brother up the stairs, hoping that Elijah can make small talk for a few minutes. She gives him the necklace and explains her reasoning for wanting him to wear it. He reluctantly slips it on, and most of it is hidden by his shirt.

"Please let Jenna help you." She says and he nods.

It feels like the first real conversation that she's had with Jeremy in weeks.

"I love you Jer." She tells her brother. She wants to cry, just a little. She doesn't. Jenna will be calling up to see what they're up to in a minute and she's left Elijah alone downstairs for too long.

"Love you too, 'Lena." She hears her brother say as she opens the door again. She gives him a smile before she passes by Jenna on the stairs.

"Have fun." Jenna says and Elena thanks her. She wishes her aunt luck and Jenna echoes her sentiment. She wants to tell Elena that Elijah's a good conversationalist and that she has a plan. But Elena's already down the stairs and she needs to focus on Jeremy so she doesn't.

* * *

She doesn't know what she expected Elijah's house to look like, but it's a beautiful house. She carries the plastic bag with their food as he produces a key to open the door. The door opens and he turns on the light, and she follows him in. She gently shuts the door.

"I'll get plates." Elijah says as she stares a little too long at the modern looking living room.

She follows him to the kitchen, it's dark colors with silver interruptions. Sleek countertops, shiny metal and dark cabinets.

He opens a cabinet and takes out two plates and two sets of silverware, and napkins. She takes it all in.

She sets the bag down on the counter, and carefully takes their food out.

They divvy it up and eat at his dining room table. The conversation goes and doesn't stop. She asks him questions and he answers and asks a few in return. She asks surface questions, like what his favorite color is and what he's going to do for their English essay. But she carefully delves a little deeper as dinner progresses. She wants to know more about him, anything he's comfortable with.

He can see what she's doing, and it's a little odd. Instinctively, he wants to be as curt and evasive as possible, very few people have attempted to try to know him in his very long lifetime.

But Elena just wants to _know_ , so she can know who she sold her soul and tells her secrets to. She's not going to try and plan his downfall so she can rise, isn't planning on blackmail or disturbing the balance.

So, he begins a very long story of important things and people he had seen when she interrupts. She seems a little nervous about it, and he's never been interrupted before by a human. He waits for her to speak.

She tells him that she does want to know what he's seen and who he's met, if he's willing to tell her. But she wants to know about him. Not who he presents himself to be, but who he is. He looks at her for a moment, and then begins again. Better, this time, Elena thinks.

* * *

The movie is interesting, but Elena thinks Elijah is more interesting than the movie she's seen with Jeremy a few times. It's supposed to be a serious movie but they keep making fun of it, the inaccuracies and stupid ideas of the protagonists are made hilarious. She's almost worried that she's laughing too hard, but she makes another comment and Elijah laughs harder than she does. They laugh their way through the rest of the movie.

* * *

When the movie's over, he asks if she wants to look at the stars. The sky has grown darker, the atmosphere is a little serious, but Elijah continues anyway. There's a little balcony upstairs that's perfect for stargazing. She agrees, but only if he continues talking about himself. He can agree to that, so he does. The movie was a break from speaking about himself, but he doesn't mind leaving the break.

He carefully sets the balcony up, two pillows and a blanket so they don't have to lie on something cold. Elena takes a few moments to properly move the pillow under her head, but he begins speaking anyway.

They look at the stars and he tells her the stories of them, which ones were influenced or created by gods. He admits to creating a few, pointing out constellations she's never noticed before. He misses the sky sometimes, he admits. The underworld is underground, and he rarely gets to look at the sky he and so many others have decorated.

He keeps talking, and he tells her about his siblings. He begins with Finn, and she asks him to tell his oldest brother about how much she appreciates what he did. He tells her he will. His brother of medicine spends more time directly on Earth than he does, he's in so many hospitals and places that need his help. He's been helping humans with science for centuries, all without their knowledge. He sees him at least once a week. He's one of the siblings whose realm interacts with his sometimes. Finn is kind and careful, calculated and prudent. He values human lives, values humans highly. He tells Elena that he thinks she'd like his older brother, who he calls Finn for her. All of their names are too old and heavy for her to say casually

His older sister, Freya still gets tribute from those who practice magic, real and pretend. She's one of the patron goddesses of magic, and she's everywhere. She's rarely seen in her true form, she prefers to blend in and look like others as she walks among humans. If he couldn't feel the power that radiated off her, he wouldn't be able to recognize her half the time. She's in so many places that he can't name them all. She doesn't let them know where all of her is, Elijah can respect that. She does random acts of kindness that most don't see, but he sees them every single time they happen near him. Freya is calculated, kind, beautiful, wise and impulsive at some times.

His brother Klaus is one of the siblings he sees fairly regularly, at least once a week if not more. He's one of the gods of war, and war and death have always gone hand in hand. Elena shivers at that, and he pauses, retrieving a blanket for her. She thanks him, and wraps it around herself. She's not sure if the shiver was at his words or the decreasing temperature.

Klaus is artistic. "Even beauty can be found in carnage sometimes," as Klaus is fond of saying. Elena's not sure if she believes that or not. But he sees his younger brother regularly, and tells Elena that the period of time that she's living in is, so far, is the most peaceful period in human history. But his brother can still be found in warzones by front lines and military camps, with widows and orphans. Just because his domain is war doesn't mean he only cares about soldiers, that he's only reckless and violent. It's not true at all. Klaus can see the beauty in almost anything, and he can't stand how callous humans are sometimes. He does what he can. Klaus is smart, calculated, impulsive and kind.

His brother Kol is the god of mischief. He's cunning and humorous, he loves a good joke. He played jokes and tricks on all of them when they were younger, centuries ago. He's almost always on Earth. He's in prank shops and wherever jokes are. He wants people to be happy, and he always reminds Finn to tell humans that they need to laugh more. It's good for their health, he says and Finn rolls his eyes and tells him that he already knows. Then Finn discovers whatever trick Kol had tried to pull on him, and Kol disappears. Kol sees Elijah frequently, not all jokes end well, but Elijah's domain is somber. He makes fewer jokes there. Kol is kind and funny. He's impulsive most of the time. He would have approved of what they did during the movie.

His sister Rebekah is the goddess of love and beauty. She's on Earth like the rest of his siblings, around humans. She's everywhere love is, which is everywhere. She's proud of all who love. A lot of people assume she only deals with romantic love, but that's untrue. She deals with familial love, the love of friends and pets and romantic love. She deals with any kind of love, pure or not. She's blonde, and beautiful. She loves easily but not always freely, and she's found by matchmakers and coffee shops, street corners and places where love grows. She loves Paris, and none of his siblings have the heart to tell her that humans didn't really think of her when they made it. She speaks fluent French. She knows every language, but she loves French the most because it's supposed to be her language. The language of love. Rebekah is idealistic, loving, and sees the advantages and disadvantages of being impulsive, so she's impulsive and prudent. Elena would like her, he knows.

His voice gets quieter, older, when he speaks of his youngest sibling. Henrik had died human, and he was a beautiful person. He was funny, kind and smart. He was the best of everything, all of the traits their family was known for, including their parents. It almost wrecked his parents when Henrik died, it almost wrecked all of them. But Henrik was happy, in the afterlife and really that was all that mattered. Elena carefully find his and and puts it in hers. She gives his hand a supportive squeeze, despite the fact she knows he doesn't need her as she needs him. Pain was pain, regardless of how old it was.

Elijah begins to speak a little more about himself, his voice begins to have an accent as he continues speaking after that.

* * *

Elena doesn't think about coming home until it gets lighter outside, and it's only really because Elijah tells her that she should probably go home, at the risk of worrying Jenna. She almost forgot about the sunrise, and she remembers that she does have to go home.

She thanks him for his honesty and for telling her so much, as she gets up, the blanket still around her. He carefully takes the pillows and other blanket and opens the door to go back inside. When he's placed things where he wants them, his arms are empty. So she just decides to go for it. She hugs him. Her head is against his shoulder, and he's stiff for a moment. But then he hugs her back and she doesn't know how long they stand there. She thanks him, and he thanks her. He forgot what real friends were like. He doesn't elaborate and she doesn't ask, but they break away and she returns his blanket to him. After they walk downstairs, he gives her the movie they watched. She finds her shoes and purse and tells him she'll see him again soon, and to have a good night. He wishes her the same, and watches as she carefully backs out of his driveway.

* * *

He gets a text twenty minutes later, a goodnight text message wishing him sweet dreams.


	11. Chapter 11

AN: Hey, sorry guys. I haven't been updating consistently and I am super sorry about that. I've been sick and I had to deal with a lot of unpleasant personal crap and it's been cutting into my writing time and just making me want to sleep instead of writing. Consistent updates from now on.

* * *

Elena wakes up to an empty house, with a note on the fridge from her aunt. Jenna and Jeremy are gone. They're looking for a place to treat Jeremy and won't be back for a while.

So she makes herself cereal and watches a cartoon in her pajamas as she waits for her tea to steep.

* * *

One episode later, she gets ready for the day, jeans and a sweater are fine for being home alone. She thinks about it as she brushes her hair, and texts Elijah. If he doesn't have plans they could maybe do homework together. If that doesn't work out, she'll be fine.

He texts her back, that he can be over in ten minutes. She replies to the text and then her timer for her tea goes off.

She moves her homework and book downstairs, to the coffee table. She clears away breakfast and is about to pour a cup of tea when the doorbell rings.

Elijah's there, and there are questions she wants to ask, things she wants to say, but they aren't meant for the bright morning. It doesn't feel right.

So she smiles at him instead and they start working on their homework on the couch. She offers him a cup of tea and he agrees to it and thanks her. They're careful to keep an eye on their cups as they move around papers and textbooks.

* * *

She's smart. He knew she was smart from the beginning, only someone very smart could manage to make a deal with him, he didn't make deals with idiots. But she's filling out her homework effortlessly, and he remembers that she just studied and did her homework in her boredom. Academics aren't everything, and that's not all there is to her, but she's filling out homework without even looking at the textbook. They're in advanced classes. He wonders if she was always like this, or if it's caused by her withdrawal from the social scene. He doesn't ask, and they're done with their homework by lunch. Elena checks her phone, and she doesn't have anything on her screen. Nothing from Jenna or Jeremy.

She asks if he maybe wants to stay for lunch, but he doesn't have to if he doesn't want to. He tells her that he wants to. So she suggests spaghetti, because it's simple and even Jenna can dump sauce in when someone else cooks and drains the noodles. She doesn't feel like something complicated. The skies are gray, she notes as she looks out the window.

* * *

He insists on helping, and she doesn't mind it. He sets the table after she shows him where everything is, and Elena asks how his morning went. He tells her that it went well, he talked to Finn and passed her comments to his older brother. She asks what Finn said in response and Elijah tells her that Finn was happy to do it. His brother wants Jeremy drug free like Elena does.

Tears prick in her eyes, and she has to drain the pasta. She almost debates it, but lets them fall, because Elijah's probably going to see her in every emotional state possible and crying is human anyway.

She carefully pours the contents of the pot into the colander. The water sends steam up, and it reminds her of a science project she did with Jeremy when he was younger. It was a model of a geyser, and it seemed to take _forever_. She had spent hours helping him work on it, getting it just right. Jeremy got an A on it though, so it had proved worth it.

She realizes time has passed when she sees Elijah with a few different spices next to her, a pan filled with the pasta sauce is simmering. He's stirring and adding different things every so often, and when he deems it done, he takes it off the heat. She recognizes the glass jar on the counter next to him.

She voices what she was thinking about, and he smiles at it. They orchestrate lunch, she gets water while he gives both bowls of pasta an appropriate amount of sauce.

* * *

They sit at her dining room table and he tells her of some of his favorite memories of his siblings. He had to help Finn with an experiment once, and it had almost exploded. When it had started _smoking_ , Elijah dumped water on it and they had decided to do the experiment somewhere other than a hospital. Finn had expressed his dismay at his extensive work going to waste when Elijah reminded his older brother of their location. Not the best for an experiment to explode.

Elena laughs, and he hadn't realized it was funny. He worries about her breathing for a few moments. He hadn't known if he would have needed to ask Kol or Finn for help. He tells her this and she laughs even harder. She's so lively, so human and alive. He missed being around the living.

She compliments him on the sauce he modified, and he thanks her for the compliment. Lunch is quiet and easy. Elena texts Jenna to ask when she'll be back and if Jeremy will be with her or not. She doesn't get a response. Elijah asks if she wants to just hang out for a while. He doesn't want to leave her alone, not when she doesn't know when Jenna and Jeremy will come back or even if Jeremy will come back.

* * *

She's thankful for him and decide to try and watch the first season of some 90's show Jenna has the entire box set of. Elena makes popcorn a few episodes in, and it's gone two episodes after that. Elijah is the designated episode counter, she lost count after episode ten. Elena ends up falling asleep before they can switch disks, and the disk begins to loop all of the episodes again. Elijah debates waking Elena up, or calling Jenna.

But he ends up yawning as the theme song plays again and he gives in to closing his eyes and clearing his mind. Everywhere else he's active and working, but next to Elena, he just relaxes into the couch and evens his breathing.

He hears Jenna come in a few hours later. He doesn't open his eyes, and hears Jenna debate if she should wake them or not. Evidently, she opts for not because he hears the quiet noises of keys on the island and Jenna moving around.

Jenna drapes a blanket over them, and she adjusts them. Elijah allows himself to be moved slightly, and feels a pillow underneath his head. He clears his mind for a few hours. It's rather nice.

He walks through different scenarios for the morning, but doesn't worry about it too much. Neither Elena nor Jenna are too intense. They weren't doing anything they couldn't explain with ease. Jenna hadn't responded and he wanted to keep her company. Honestly.

* * *

He wonders what Jenna will think in the morning, as he listens to the theme song play once more, and familiarizes himself with the sounds of the Gilbert house.


	12. Chapter 12

Elena wakes up when the remote falls off the couch. She jerks against him and opens her eyes. He looks at her and she yawns hugely.

"Good morning. It's ten o'clock." He says as she yawns again.

"Good morning." She says as she carefully gets off the couch.

He's about to say something when he freezes, like he did when he was talking to Finn, somewhere else.

"Elijah?" Elena's voice is soft. She doesn't know where Jenna is, or if she can hear them. She carefully checks, and Jenna's car is gone. She's not in the house. There's a note that says something about doughnuts messily scribbled on it. Elena's stomach growls at the thought, but she focuses at the task at hand. Elijah's somewhere else, and she needs to know when he gets returns.

It's a minute before he comes back, and he blinks. The intense look passes and he tells her something she's not expecting.

* * *

"We'll have a new history teacher on Monday." He says and she blinks and then it sinks in. He stands up, and she wants to sit down. She doesn't.

"Mr. Tanner's dead?" She asks. It seems surreal. She's not hungry anymore. Not even for her favorite doughnut.

"I believe one of the Salvatores killed him."

"Stefan?" She guesses and he shakes his head.

"Damon. Unless there's another dark haired vampire who drives a blue Camaro around here." He had seen the memory, it was Damon. Unless Damon had a vampiric doppelganger like Elena.

"Oh my god." The words slip through her lips, and she blinks again. It's not a dream.

He decides not to tell her where their former history teacher's soul ended up. But he does tell her that Stefan isn't harmless either, and briefly tells her of his long history as a ripper, a reminder she needs to stay away from both Salvatores. He sees her begin to process it.

"Oh god, I need to tell Jenna, we'll all be invited to the funeral. She'll have to make that casserole she-" Elena trails off in thought. He's never seen her this lost before, she hadn't looked like this even when she had proposed a deal. It hadn't sunk in when he had mentioned it a few days ago. She had just hoped he meant Mr. Tanner would move, not _die._

"You need to wait a few hours. Only the police and Damon know he's dead. If you tell Jenna he's dead it's going to look suspicious." He reminds her and she feels a weight on her chest. She doesn't know how she's still standing, it's a secret she has to keep. She tells herself that this is what she got herself into and she can handle it. She needs to handle it, and has to handle it.

"We won't be invited to the funeral if his family decides they want him buried somewhere else." Elena says and Elijah peers into her eyes.

She's not used to death, he recognizes. She nods and tells him that she won't talk to Jenna about it. Not yet, not until it's public knowledge.

That's good enough, for the moment. He can tell she has more to say so he lets her say it.

"Jenna always makes this casserole for funerals, and she can't do it by herself. She used to make it with my mom but Jer and I have to help her make it now." She feels so small and distant that she almost doesn't hear his next words.

"How many times has Jenna made it?" He asks carefully and she has to think.

"A handful of times." She answers. Her mind feels like it's scattered all over. There's a moment of clarity as she sits at the table.

"Damon's going to get away with this. This is insane. Damon killed Mr. Tanner and he won't be caught, not when he can compel most of the town." Elena realizes. Her first instinct is that she wants to confront him, but both Salvatores are dangerous. Confronting them isn't a smart move. it would reveal that they _know_ and if it escalated fight, it'd reveal that Elijah is stronger than both of them. They can't do anything about it.

"So what's our plan?" Elena asks a minute later because she thinks Elijah always has a plan. If he doesn't have one, they need to make one.

"I believe Jenna will be returning in a few minutes with doughnuts. We keep this to ourselves and act accordingly when we are officially told." Elijah begins and Elena senses that there's another part.

"And we should also be wary of the Salvatores. Damon's up to something." Elijah says and she nods.

Her history teacher is dead because of Damon. Not by accident, he just wanted the younger man to die. So he was dead, just like that.

"That's a terrible way to go." Leaves her lips and she wants to clear her head, but it's too clouded. The door opens at the same time Elena notices the tv is still playing the disk.

* * *

Jenna smiles at them both and gives them doughnuts. Elijah eats his chocolate doughnut over his plate with careful precision.

"I see you discovered by bad tv stash. I haven't watched this show in ages." Jenna stands next to the couch and watches for a few moments.

"Hey do you mind if I take Elijah home?" Elena asks. She wants to ask about Jeremy but figures that her aunt isn't likely to talk about it in front of company.

"That's fine." Jenna says and Elena is glad that Jenna isn't a strict aunt as she puts her hair in a messy ponytail. She plans to talk to Elijah on the ride there. He seems to know what she's thinking as she puts on a jacket and grabs her keys.


	13. Chapter 13

AN: I know I probably should have broken this into a few chapters, but no one's complained about chapter 10 being so long, so here we go!

Body horror warning/squick warning after the line: "They catch snippets of conversations"

* * *

"What do you think Damon's up to?" She asks when she drives down her street.

"If I had to guess, I'd say his plans involve Katerina in some way." He says Katherine's real name, and he has a pronounced accent for a moment. She can't place the accent, which era or century it comes from.

"I'm pretty sure he told me that she was in a tomb under Fell's church." Elena tries to think and remember where she needs to turn at the same time. She sees Elijah frown out of the corner of her eye.

"Katerina is not in the tomb under the church." Elijah tells her. He had more than one vampire from within that tomb pray for him to take them, and curse Katerina and the humans outside of it. He's almost completely sure she's not in there.

"So Damon is going to try and open the tomb to get Katherine? There's like twenty vampires in there. If the witch who opens the tomb can't close it, they're going to escape. That's a powerful spell. That's a lot of magic."

He's surprised that she knows so much about it.

"You're right. We can't tell Damon that she's not in there. We have to watch what happens. Interfering puts us both at risk." Elijah reminds her. If things weren't so bad, and if she wasn't so upset, she'd make a joke.

But things aren't looking so great right now. There's a moment of silence, commercials neither of them pay attention to play on the radio.

"What's the name of our new teacher?" She asks as she parks in his driveway.

"Alaric Saltzman." Elijah says and she wonders how their school found him.

"I'll call you later." She promises. He nods.

* * *

Jenna updates her on Jeremy, as they drink coffee. He's doing a lot better, and she's going to call the school later to see if she can get his homework and classwork to where he's staying.

Elena just drinks her coffee and tells Jenna she's going to study in her room. Really, she knows, as she retrieves her homework from the coffee table, she's just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

* * *

She calls Elijah two hours later.

She wonders if they'll like Alaric Saltzman, and if he'll die before the end of the year too.

* * *

It rains Monday, and Elena picks Elijah up before school. They talk in the car, and as they walk in. She wonders who's going to be in charge of the football team as they walk and he tells her that he was wondering the same thing. A lot of people are wearing black. Elena doesn't understand it.

Mr. Tanner was not a nice person, but everyone is acting like he was. She asks Elijah why people were lying to themselves and each other like that. He tells her that grief does strange things to people. He says it matter-of-factly, like he's reading from a textbook. She's sure he knows better than anyone else. She makes a noise of agreement to let him know she thinks he's right and that she was listening.

As they walk to first hour, she knows she's not really in a position to judge the people mourning Mr. Tanner, especially since she's just starting to heal from losing her parents. She doesn't know how to feel. It feels like her emotions are chasing each other in a circle in her stomach. She's worried that if she opens her mouth, the emotional tornado might come out. She then debates for a few moments if it'd be a hurricane or a tornado. She doesn't ask Elijah, although she's sure he'd know.

Their notes for each hour vary on topics, and before fourth hour, Elijah and Elena see her aunt walking down the hallway.

She makes a note to text her aunt later, and they walk to history class.

Their new teacher looks like he's in his thirties. He doesn't look overwhelmed, or really old like she thought he would. After she notices that, she notices his light brown hair and his name on the board. She hopes he's not mean, as they take their seats. She wants to whisper or begin the note of the hour as he begins to speak, but resists. She wants to make a good first impression.

Mr. Saltzman introduces himself, and says that they're going to take it a little easy for the rest of the week. He's nice, and Elena notices that she's not the only one staring a little too hard at the new teacher. Stefan is doing that too. She doesn't look at their new teacher too critically after that.

When he begins to lecture, the classroom is dark, there's a powerpoint up on the screen. Elijah notes that their new teacher notices them passing the note, but doesn't do anything about it. Interesting.

Elena asks what he thinks of Alaric Saltzman in the note, and if he's human or not. He confirms that their new history teacher is human. Rain pours outside. Mr. Saltzman seems to be following Mr. Tanner's lesson plans for the most part, but his lecture has his own spin on it. Elijah notes that it's more accurate than their previous teacher's.

Elena resists the urge to asks if there's a god of weather as thunder cracks loudly. She likes rain, as long as it doesn't mess up any of her things or plans. She likes the sound of it. She debates texting Jenna and asking if Elijah can come over after school to do homework. Elijah has the note when their teacher turns the light back on. He assigns homework, they do need to know the material after all, and collects the last homework his predecessor assigned.

They all pack up early, it's just what they do, and then they talk.

Elena wonders if the rain will let up. Elijah tells her that he doesn't think it will, at least not before school gets out.

The bell rings, and they move out of the classroom.

"Elena." Their new teacher says, almost hesitantly. There's a few people left in the room, and Elijah stays next to her. She's reassured by his presence.

"Yeah?" She asks.

"I forgot to give this stack of classwork to your aunt. Do you mind giving it to her?" He's holding a stack of white paper, neatly kept together with a paperclip.

"Yeah. Thank you." It's for Jeremy. She's glad he didn't ask more questions or make it more awkward than it already is.

"No problem. Have a good day, you two." Elijah's surprised the younger man addresses him, but Elena leaves the classroom and he follows. People in his next class are starting to show up. Elena puts the stack of paper in her bag as they walk to fifth hour. She asks Elijah about hanging out after school, Jenna told her she'd be working late. He agrees, if Jenna's okay with it. She texts her aunt with a few seconds to spare before the bell rings. She puts her phone in her bag and he begins the note for the hour.

* * *

Another lecture that makes her want to yawn, and the feeling in her stomach shrinks a little bit. They watch an educational movie that they pass the note during, and she discreetly checks her phone as the light turns on. Jenna said yes. She writes that in the note before she returns it, and they hand in the questions that accompanied the video.

The bell rings and their teacher reminds them of homework as they rush to get out.

Elena tells Elijah what she doesn't mind being overheard, she writes the rest in the remaining space of the fifth hour note.

Jeremy's doing a lot better. Jenna came to school to get the classwork and homework he'd be missing out on. He'll have internet for a while each day, and eventually, Elena could call. Not for a while though.

She feels like a part of her is missing. Jeremy's her brother, and he's not nearby. He's always been nearby, she's always been there for him and there's a pang in her chest when she sees his friends walk by.

"I miss Jeremy." She confesses, as she sees them. It was so quiet in the morning, she almost went into his room to wake him up before she remembered.

"Do you ever miss Finn?" She asks, because she can't pronounce his older brother's real name and anyone could be listening in. She adjusts her sweater.

"Sometimes." He answers, and he knows that she means his siblings, not just Finn, but he can feel Stefan Salvatore's gaze on his back.

They catch snippets of conversations from the football players, and neither of them are surprised that they're talking about their former coach.

"Didn't they say something ripped his throat open?" One boy asks as he sits down, joins the table and the conversation.

"Wild animal." One boy says through a mouth full of food.

"Did they kill it?" Another asks, and Elena can't stop the shudder that happens when she hears the question. Damon is still out there. Stefan is sitting with the football players and the animal they're talking about is his brother. Damon is still alive and out there, and could easily kill again.

"Yeah." They hear Stefan say.

"The animal's been taken care of." He says, and a flash of anger passes through Elena. Elijah notices her tense.

Stefan's a liar. It irritates her that she can't call him out on it, he had told her on their very stinted first date, that he valued honesty. Apparently not.

Elena questions if the vampire really means that or not. Elijah tells her that he doesn't know. Stefan's perception of "taken care of" might not match either of theirs.

The bell rings before they can give it much more thought.

Their sixth and seventh hour teachers give lectures they must have given for years, because they don't have anything on the board or notes that they look at.

She enjoys the classes, they're easy and the teachers never notice when they pass notes. She asks Elijah if he wants to do homework and watch the rest of the tv show they started on Saturday. He agrees.

* * *

She makes popcorn and he starts the show. He remembers which one she fell asleep during, and so they watch it again. Elena likes the show because it's easy to focus on. She can pretend like it's a fairly normal Monday night.

A few episodes in, Elena's phone beeps. Jenna reminds her that she'll be late, and that she can order pizza. Elena knows the process. There's something else Elena didn't expect. Jenna asked if Elijah wants to stay for dinner.

Elijah agrees with ease. She asks what he wants pizza wise, she was just going to order two cheese pizzas. She might order garlic bread for Jenna. He tells her that's fine. He doesn't live on mortal food anyway. That intrigues her, but she tells herself that's a topic for another day.

He tells her he'll might be gone after school on Thursday. He's visiting Rebekah, or she might come for a visit. She was undecided the last time he had talked to her, he tells Elena as she dials the familiar number. He pauses the show as she orders, and she smiles at him.

She knows that everything's falling apart and beginning to fall together. Before this, things would have gotten a lot worse before they got even close to better, but that's not happening now. She's not doing that. She needs to keep going. Her head feels a little more clear, she feels a little more certain when she's around Elijah. Mr. Tanner would have died at some point, and Damon could have killed anyone else. Jeremy will get better and they'll all be okay. It's just going to take time. She had forgotten that, to apply optimism to situations. She's happy she remembered how to be optimistic, at least somewhat, again.

She's excited for him, he sounds excited to see her again. She can't imagine going more than a few days without seeing Jeremy. They talk about his sister for a few minutes. She can't imagine how long he's gone without seeing his siblings at some points of his life. He hits play and the episode continues.

They finish the last episode of the disk and the credits are playing as the doorbell rings. Elena walks to the door as Elijah switches disks. When he's selecting the next episode, she puts the pizza on the counter.

She tells him it's still raining outside and if he wants pizza, to come get it.

* * *

There are two more episodes until Jenna's home, and Elijah reminds her about the papers their new history teacher gave her to give to Jenna as they hear her aunt in the driveway.

Jenna gives her a tired but genuine smile, and she smiles at Elijah too.

"How are you two doing?" She asks, as she sets down her work things.

"Good. We're about five episodes away from the finale." Elena says, gesturing to the tv.

"Do you like it?" Jenna inquires as she opens a pizza box and Elena looks through her bag.

"It's a good show." Elijah says and Jenna makes a noise of agreement.

"It was on when I was growing up. I remember it used to have a huge following." Jenna tells them and Elena mentions the paperwork from their new history teacher. Jenna thanks her, and Elena puts it on the island. Jenna takes a bite of garlic bread.

"Mind if I join you guys?" Jenna doesn't want to intrude, but she wouldn't mind watching an episode.

"Not at all." Elijah speaks before Elena can, and they move themselves on the couch. Jenna's on one side, Elijah is on the other, and Elena's in the middle.

Elijah plays the next episode. Jenna eats her pizza and tries to not embarrass Elena in front of her friend.

It's a good episode, and Elena says that she'll drive Elijah home. Jenna agrees, and they say goodbye to her.

Elena says goodnight, and drops him off.

* * *

They text off and on before she goes to bed, and it's so quiet in Jeremy's room that she almost wants to turn on his music and play it, just so it isn't so suffocatingly quiet. But she doesn't, and if she really focuses, she can hear Jenna getting ready for bed too.

Tuesday will be better, she tells herself.

* * *

The next few days pass in almost the same way but Jenna gets home early on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Elena talks to Jenna about missing Jeremy. Jenna tells her that she misses Jeremy too, but he's doing okay. Jenna tells her that Mr. Tanner won't have a funeral in Mystic Falls. He had family elsewhere, and they wanted to bury him there. They won't make the casserole, after all. Elena's a little relieved. Going to the funeral wouldn't make her feel better, and she didn't want to try and make the casserole without Jeremy either. Jenna complains about work and Elena complains about school.

They end up watching a bad movie on the couch as they eat dinner, and they talk. Jenna feels how Elena does. They're both going through the same things and they're both trying their hardest.

Elena likes her time with Jenna. They eat ice cream and make fun of another bad movie. Elena's ribs hurt and she doesn't feel so alone.

She has Jenna, Jeremy and Elijah.

* * *

She picks Elijah up again on Thursday, and he looks excited. It looks like a good day. They didn't have homework on Wednesday, other than studying. It's barely cloudy, and Elijah gets to see his sister.

They pass notes and pretend to take notes during videos and lectures for their first three classes until fourth hour. Mr. Saltzman announces they'll be doing a project due the next week, involving partners. One of the cheerleaders asks if they can pick partners and their teacher agrees to that. The new teacher seems unsurprised that Elijah and Elena paired up. They seem like a package deal, he rarely sees one of them without the other. They scoot their desks closer and begin planning their project out.

Stefan pairs up with a cheerleader he pretends that he's interested in. He passes by Elijah and Elena, and stares to see if there's anything he can see that might indicate _what_ Elijah is. He's not human and he radiates power. Stefan would guess that he's a very, very old vampire, but he doesn't see any lapis lazuli anywhere on Elijah. He doesn't smell like a werewolf. Damon's been bothering him to figure it out.

His best guess at the moment would be that Elijah's a witch. Elena moves closer to Elijah when Stefan approaches, their teacher notices. He plans to ask around in the teacher's lounge. There's a story there.

Stefan hears Elena ask Elijah where he's meeting someone named Rebekah and listens to their conversation. He wonders who Rebekah is.

He wonders if Rebekah is perhaps Elijah's girlfriend or sister. He's only ever heard them mention Elijah's brother Finn. They both sound excited, but as far as he knows, only Elijah is going to see her.

* * *

He checks in the teacher's lounge at lunch. Elijah Smith had arrived one day last week from New York with his guardian older brother. He has every class with Elena Gilbert, and they stick together. They had become fast friends, and she hadn't had any friends this year before that. Which was surprising, because her freshman and sophomore years, she had been at the top of the social pyramid. Elena Gilbert used to be a cheerleader, and popular.

But her parents had died, and she became withdrawn. He knew what her brother did to cope, but he wonders how the one person in the school who didn't have a single friend instantly became friends with the new kid. It seemed a little odd. One of the teachers explains that she was assigned to show him around. He must have cracked her shell, just a little bit.

Jenna Sommers was her mother's sister, and guardian to the kids her sister left behind. Alaric wonders if she's single and then chases the thought away. The bell rings and he moves to return to his classroom.

* * *

Elena drops him off at home, and he asks if she wants to meet his sister, but she shakes her head. Maybe a different time. He deserves uninterrupted time with his sister. Elena has a different location in mind to spend her time anyway. She gives him a smile and he smiles back, and tells her that if she needs something, to just text him.

She tells him she'll be visiting her parents, nothing too exciting. He nods, and he's almost at his door, so she backs out of his driveway and begins to make her way to the cemetery.

It's been a while. There was a time when she visited her parents everyday, and then she decreased her visits. She read somewhere that not visiting or focusing so much might help. It had, a bit. But then she felt guilty for not visiting.

She walks carefully, some of the graves have been there for centuries, and she doesn't want to damage anything. She could walk there blindfolded, and she does close her eyes for a moment as she continues moving.

She sits close to the headstone, and pulls her journal out of her bag. She begins to speak to them, she doesn't know if her parents can hear, but she'd been talking to them since they were buried. She writes in the pauses, when she thinks of what else she's been meaning and wanting to say.

* * *

She writes and talks until her throat is dry. It's almost dark, and she finishes her thoughts and puts her journal and pen in her bag.

She doesn't see the eyes watching her, doesn't see the texts on her phone. She just knows there's an instinct that's telling her to go and she follows it. She says goodbye and hurries to get out. It's also late and Jenna's probably worried, she didn't actually tell anyone where she was going.

She doesn't think of those things, she just runs to her car. Elena doesn't know why she feels like she can't breathe until she's in the driver's seat. Then she sees movement in her rear mirror. She's not sure, but she thinks it was a person. She's never seen an animal that big in the cemetery before.

She locks her doors and drives. When she's at a stop sign, she buckles her seat belt, she hadn't even thought of it until then. She tries to calm her breathing, and continues driving. She texts Jenna at the stoplight, asking her if she's home. Her phone beeps and she checks it the next stop. Jenna's home and wondering where she is.

She drives home, and hugs Jenna when she opens the door. She closes it and locks it as quickly as possible. She has to wonder if she should tell Jenna about the supernatural. If Katherine ever returned to Mystic Falls, she could pretend to be Elena and her aunt would never know. She texts Elijah to text her when he's done, if he gets done spending time with his sister.

* * *

It's hilarious, she hasn't seen him look like this since they were human. He's so young, she resists the urge to tell him how he looks. Then he moves his hand and he looks like what she's used to.

They talk, and she smiles at him. She doesn't usually get to interact with him this much, not like Nik and Finn do. They speak in a language almost only their family knows anymore, anyone else who speaks it is dead or undead.

She loses track of time, but it's fine. His phone beeps, and she asks who it is. It's Elena, he tells her, the human who sold her soul to him in exchange for a friend.

"She has a lot of love for you." Rebekah tells her brother, and he looks faintly surprised.

"Not romantic." She clarifies, although she's fairly sure he didn't need the clarification.

"She's a good person. She loves really deeply. I'm a little surprised she made a deal with you and not me." Rebekah says and Elijah just shrugs.

He explains the interesting case of Elena Gilbert, and opens the text. Something was wrong, he felt Elena's life at risk for a few minutes, but she wasn't afraid, wasn't worried until a few minutes after it passed.

The text asks him to call when he can.

Rebekah reminds him to be careful, Damon and Stefan Salvatore think they love Katerina Petrova and Elena Gilbert, but neither do. The Petrovas are more of an obsession and an unhealthy one at that. What they think they feel makes them a little dangerous and a little unpredictable. She reminds her brother that if he needs her to intervene or help, she will. He thanks her. She has to go, and so does he, but she does tell him she wants to meet this interesting girl who sold her soul.

He tells her that they'll meet someday, and if she wants to meet Elena, she could meet Elena anyway. Rebekah doesn't need his permission to do so. Rebekah tells him she'd rather meet Elena in his presence. She says goodbye and so does he. Then his sister vanishes, and he dials Elena's number.

* * *

She's in her room when her phone rings. She lets out a sigh of relief, and begins to explain it. She talks about the feeling that seems stupid when she begins, the instinct seems ridiculous now. She asks if she interrupted his time with his sister and he tells her she did not.

It could have been one of the Salvatores, he reminds her. It's a logical conclusion, but she reminds him that Mystic Falls attracts the supernatural. It could Have easily been a werewolf or a vampire. Maybe even Katherine. _Whatever_ or _whoever_ it was didn't seem to follow, like they were just an observer to her grief. She wonders aloud if she was safe or not. Elijah admits that he doesn't know.

She asks if he thinks it's going to get worse, or if it's all in her head.

He tells her it wasn't.

She seems to accept that rather readily and wonders if she should tell Jenna. She tells him her fears about Jenna, if she doesn't know then she could die too. She doesn't want Jenna to die. She doesn't want Jenna or Jeremy to die ever, but that will happen someday. She doesn't want to think about it.

He tells her that they can make a plan for that, and slowly introduce the idea to Jenna. If she thinks she came upon it by herself, then she might accept it more readily.

* * *

They talk, for a long time.

By the time they say goodnight, Elena feels reassured and a lot better about the next day.


	14. Chapter 14

Elijah Smith is a witch. That's the only explanation Stefan and Damon can come up with. Elena's not wearing the necklace he gave her, but if it wasn't meant for Elena, Stefan has to wonder who it was for. In other circumstances, he'd try to get Damon to be in control, but that takes time.

If Elijah is using Elena or trying to harm her, he needs his brother to help. It seems like he cast a spell on her, she follows him everywhere. He wonders if Elena thinks she loves him. Stefan tells himself that watching her when they can is necessary. Elena could be in danger. It's definitely not because Elena looks like Katherine.

* * *

She picks him up, and they talk about their plan to get Jenna into believing in the supernatural, what to do about the Salvatores and their history project. Elijah reminds her that they have an assembly. Elena wants to groan.

Classes are shortened slightly to make room for the assembly, which will be after third hour.

Their first three classes are boring, they're routine. After the bell for third hour rings, they walk to go to the assembly. The cheerleaders cheer and the band plays the school song. It's so loud Elena wonders if she has a heartbeat. She sits next to Elijah and notices almost familiar eyes looking at them. It's the cheerleaders, Elena realizes. She holds their gaze for a moment and then they break it and she knows they'll talk about her later, when their principal is talking. The knowledge of that makes her stomach feel like it dropped through the bleachers.

"Ignore them." Elijah whispers and she nods.

"I know. Is it weird that I miss them sometimes?" She asks. He shakes his head.

"They were your friends. It's natural to think about relationships that feel unfinished." He tells her.

The music quiets, and the cheerleaders sit. Their principal begins to talk about how great their school is, how wonderful the people are and how smart, and somehow all Elijah can think about is how none of those smart and wonderful people tried to help Elena when she needed it.

But of course, Elena doesn't see it that way, so he lets the irritating thought go. Sports and clubs show off what they do, and the cheerleaders who run the dances and most of the school events talk for a few minutes longer than needed. It feels long and Elena wishes it would be over soon.

* * *

There's talk of the next football game and then a moment of silence for Mr. Tanner. Elena feels uncomfortable, and pretends like she doesn't have goosebumps and an uneasy feeling in her stomach.

Then it's over, too fast and too slow all at once, and Elijah takes her arm and helps her from getting squished in the crowd.

* * *

When they walk to fourth hour, she starts a note as Mr. Saltzman begins to remind them of their projects.

Something feels wrong. Something isn't right, she writes with messy handwriting. She gives it to him as soon as she finishes writing, and gets out what she needs for their project.

He agrees. Stefan and Damon are up to something, and whatever it is, it can't be good.

He writes that he'll talk to his sister, Freya. It's odd to say the closest translation when the real names of his siblings are so easy to say.

If there's magic being done in Mystic Falls, they'll know about it.

Elena feels reassured, and they talk aloud about their assignment.

The rest of the day passes with more ease, and she feels better.

* * *

Elijah comes over for the last few episodes of season one, and Jenna arrives in the middle of an episode. She orders Italian food for the three of them, and joins them on the couch.

"I think this room could use another couch." Jenna says and Elena agrees. It's something Jenna's been thinking about for a while. She'll look into it.

They're a third of the way through the next episode when their food arrives. Jenna pauses the show and then resumes once they all have plates full of food. The show is really good, and Jenna's surprised how it's still fairly timeless despite a few flaws.

"So many of the problems on this show would be solved if they had texting." Elijah notes and Jenna laughs and agrees with him.

"That was what life was like back then too."

* * *

After a few more episodes, Elena tells him that she'll drive him home and he tells her he'll come over to do homework with her on Saturday. When they're in the car he tells her that he'll tell her what Freya said, and he'll look into a few things.

She's almost out of his driveway when he's turning his key in the lock and stops.

He gestures for her to park. She gets out.

"Someone tried to enter the house." He says.

"Tried?" It can't be that hard to break into a house, Elena thinks. She wonders why someone failed at it.

"I have magic up. People who are meant to be here can get in. No one else can." He likes his privacy.

"Text me?" Elena asks. She's sure he'll want to do his own investigating and if she lingers too long Jenna will be worried.

He nods.

"I'll let you know what I find out." He promises.


	15. Chapter 15

He tells her that he doesn't more much more than what he told her about the failed break in. They work on their project and finish it, a few days ahead of schedule. Elijah tells her that he's arranged for Jenna to slowly be introduced to the supernatural. Nothing that will raise her suspicion enough to talk about it with Elena, but just enough for her to begin thinking about it. He wonders about that actually, and shares his thoughts with her. Most of the Founding Families of Mystic Falls know about the existence of vampires, at the very least. He wonders if Jenna knows already, but is skeptical or thinks it's a joke.

Elena doesn't know, she admits. Jenna mentioned wanting to check out the lake house during the weekend, but she might be booked. Elijah says he wouldn't mind accompanying her. Elena tells him that she'll ask Jenna in the morning, it's too late to ask. He tells her the Salvatores think he's a witch. That could come in handy, she agrees.

She texts him back, with a yawn, that she doesn't know much about witches or magic. He tells her he knows enough to fool the Salvatores. He looks at the clock on his phone and advises her to get some sleep. She wishes him a good night and he wishes her sweet dreams as her phone begins to charge.


	16. Chapter 16

He texts Elena that he can drive if she wants, he hasn't mentioned it and won't mention it, but he notices her habits. She breaks early, leaves a lot of following distance and is always a mile or two under the speed limit. He wonders how she isn't completely afraid to get into a car, but she tells him she wouldn't mind that at all. She knows how to get to the cabin and can give directions. It's a step, she tells herself as they arrange the details. She hasn't been there since her parents died. With all of the things that they've had going on, they haven't had time to think about working on getting rid of their things in the lake house.

* * *

Elijah is a good driver, but she notices that he drives like she does. She thanks him for that and tells him where to turn. He parks, and she takes a deep breath before she opens the car door.

"I haven't been here since before they died." She tells him and he nods.

She takes the key that feels too heavy to be so little, and unlocks the door as he locks the car. It's a little dusty, but she expected that. She opens the door so Elijah can come in, and she doesn't miss the quick scan he does before she shuts the door.

"Only Jenna knows where we are, so unless someone followed us, we're probably safe." She can't help but wonder who was watching her in the cemetery.

She looks around and closes her eyes as Elijah locks the door.

"I forgot how much stuff we have over here." She murmurs and he nods.

She looks through the cabinets and makes an estimate of how many things belonged to her parents, what they need to get rid of. She gives him a tour, of all the rooms, and he reminds her that she doesn't have to do this alone, or that day. She tells him it's fine, and enters her parents room.

She estimates the rest of it and walks into their closet. She looks around and he puts his hand on one of the walls, ready to do whatever she needs. He moves his hand and frowns. She turns and looks at him.

"What is it?" She asks. He knocks against the wood paneling, and tells her that he thinks it's hollow. There's something behind it, is his best guess without moving anything. She tells him to do whatever he thinks is best, and he carefully moves a panel. They move with more ease than she expects and she wonders if it's a safe, or something they didn't mention in their will. It could just be an accident, she thinks and then she sees that there's a door where the paneling covered. There's a lock and she wonders where they hid the key when he asks if he can break it. They've already come this far, so she tells him he can. He breaks it with ease with his fingers and her jaw drops for a few seconds before she remembers he's a god. Right.

The door glides open with ease, she can't tell if it's good that it didn't creak or not.

He reaches for the light, not because he needs it, but because Elena does.

She covers her mouth with one hand. There are stakes, a crossbow, and weapons that are designed to kill vampires. There's a little shelf full of what looks like journals.

"My parents knew about the existence of vampires?" She asks and reaches for a journal.

* * *

"I can't tell Jenna about this. She's going to think I'm crazy." Elena tells him as they sit in the living room.

"We'll leave it for her to find. I'll get rid of the lock. Is there anything else you need to do here?" He asks. She shakes her head.

"I'll be right back and then we can return to Mystic Falls." He offers. She nods, and counts how many boxes she thinks it'll add up to. Their things would do more good as donations than as part of an untouched house.

* * *

There's something that feels a little off, he thinks as he drives back to the small town they live in.

"Is something wrong?" She asks.

"I'm not sure." He answers.

"Let me know if there is something." She requests, and he agrees to that.

* * *

"He's something other than a witch." Stefan says and Damon rolls his eyes.

"That's not possible. Just get the witches ready and we'll do this. You'll have Katherine and it'll all be over." Stefan says and Damon sighs.

"Tomorrow night, then?" His older brother asks and Stefan confirms it.

* * *

Jenna finds them making progress on season two when she comes home, and pizza on the counter. She greets them, and they talk to her. She talks about the rough estimate of boxes for the lake house and tells them she'll be back downstairs in a few minutes. They resume playing the episode as she walks up the stairs, and Elena focuses on the episode instead of anything else. If she doesn't, she'll overthink and she can't let Jenna see that.

Elijah drives himself home after Jenna joins them for another episode, and texts Elena when he's home. She didn't ask, but she feels relieved. They text as she's getting ready for bed, and say goodnight.

* * *

Sunday is easy, there's no homework to do or problems that need solving before Monday. Jenna mentions that Jeremy's doing okay and doing his homework. She asks what Elena thinks about Alaric Saltzman, the new teacher. Elena replies that she likes him, he's better than Mr. Tanner by a mile.

Jenna tells her that's good to hear, and says she'll be back in a few hours. She takes a nap, Elijah doesn't need to spend every waking moment with her, after all and she could use the sleep. She doesn't dream of anything, and it's kind of nice.

* * *

When she wakes up, it's dark, and she almost thinks everything is fine. Then she figures out why she woke up, her phone is ringing. She answers the call.

"I'm on your porch, can you let me in?" Elijah asks, and she tells him she'll be down in a minute. She hangs up and walks downstairs with a yawn.

She unlocks the door, and lets him in.

"The Salvatores are unsealing the tomb with two witches. They probably won't be able to seal it back once they finish. Freya says it's too much for them."

"If they can't seal it, how many vampires are loose?" She asks.

"Twenty six." He says and she swears.

"And they're going to probably want revenge against the Founding Families and Katherine. Great." She says and he nods.

There's a moment of thought and then he tells her that Damon just killed one of the witches after she told him they couldn't seal the tomb. The other one is dying. Elena closes her eyes.

"Until they're all dealt with, I will not leave you unprotected." He promises and she thanks him and exhales.

* * *

Jenna doesn't know Elijah's there that night, that he sits on Elena's window seat as she sleeps, or that there's vampires out for blood in Mystic Falls.


	17. Chapter 17

Elena wakes up to her alarm, and gets out of bed before she looks towards her window. Elijah. Right, she remembers and it all returns to her.

He tells her that he'll stay out of sight as she gets ready, and that Jenna has coffee brewing downstairs. She asks about what happened the night before, and he tells her that there wasn't any damage to any of the Founding Families. Not yet. Four of the twenty six are dead, from fights amongst themselves. Five people were admitted to the hospital with significant blood loss, but are in stable condition and there are a dozen more that were compelled and have vampire blood in their system.

No one has come after her yet.

She takes a deep breath and thanks him, and apologizes. He tells her that this situation isn't hard to deal with. They'll be fine and it's not a big deal.

She hopes that's true as she gets ready for school.

* * *

She wonders if it's just her imagination or if Stefan actually does look guilty, and Elijah thinks she's right. Neither of them miss how hard he stares at her when he thinks they're not looking.

Classes pass, and they pass notes. She feels hyper aware of every face she doesn't recognize, and there's a custodian that stares at her for a few seconds too long and then moves down the hallway. She has Elijah though, and that makes the day a lot more bearable. She's not going to die today, or this week.

She switches to lighter topics after lunch, and asks about his siblings. Freya wants to meet her, and so does Rebekah. They're interested by her, he tells her, but it's fine if she doesn't want to meet them. She tells him that she does, she'd love to meet them.

That's settled then. He can't remember ever making a deal like this, or a human ever meeting more than one person from his family ever.

Elena was different from the start though.

* * *

They go to the Grill to pick up food Jenna ordered from her office for dinner, and as she's about to unlock the car, she feels a brick wall against her back before she does.

Then it disappears and Elijah has his hand around someone's throat and she takes a moment to regain the breath that was knocked out of her.

The vampire looks confused, and Elijah looks around for a moment. A vacant parking lot, with no one to see. He changes to the face he's most comfortable with, and the vampire's eyes widen. He knows Elena's looking and he is almost sure he knows what she is feeling.

"That is not Katerina Petrova or Katherine Pierce. You have two options. Leave Mystic Falls and never come after this girl again, or die. Your choice." Elijah says and it almost sounds like he's bored, his hand relaxes enough to let the vampire say his choice.

"Others will come for you, Katherine." He says and Elijah's grip tightens around his throat.

The choice is made, then.

* * *

He updates her as he drives her car to her house. There are ten dead, and two have left Mystic Falls for good. He tells her about which ones can be persuaded to leave and the few that want to kill her and the Founding Families. As a Gilbert and a Petrova doppelganger, she's a pretty big target.

But he senses her need for normality, so they make sure all of the doors are locked, set up dinner, and watch an episode while they wait for Jenna. Only two of the vampires had daylight rings, one confronted Elena and the other left town with her daughter who waited for the tomb to be opened.

They're safe until the sun sets. Jenna comes home safely and she hugs her aunt tightly, there's a pack of vampires loose and she made it home before they could get her, thank god.

Elijah can convince them to leave, and he and Elena agreed to that. He tells her as he hugs her goodbye, an odd act on his part she thinks until he whispers that the ones who want Katherine are going after the Salvatores. The ones who can be persuaded to leave are elsewhere. He'll talk to them and wait until the fight is over to deal with the rest.

She says okay and then he tells them that he wants to walk home, after all, Mystic Falls is a quiet town. Jenna seems a little uneasy, but he assures her that he will be fine and will text Elena when he's home to ease their worry.

Elena starts from the episode Jenna saw last and Elijah texts her that he's home about fifteen minutes in. They watch a few episodes until they really do need to work on work and homework. Elena waits for a few moments before she texts Elijah goodnight.

He tells her that it's over, that the Salvatores are alive, and none of the tomb vampires are left in Mystic Falls.

* * *

The rest of the week passes like a long sigh. They watch episodes and follow a pretty routine schedule. They start another project, and Elena watches their history teacher for anything out of the ordinary. Stefan looks a little worse for wear, but he's the one who first wonders why no one ever sees Elijah's brother.

Elena and Elijah are aware of the rising speculation, and he texts Finn to ask if he can come visit for a few days this week. He agrees, and tells him he is looking forward to meeting the human Elijah made a deal with. He'll be at Elijah's after school.

Elena drives them to Elijah's after school, and she's not quite sure what she's expecting, but the front door opens after she parks. She sees a handsome man, dressed in casual clothes in the doorway.

He looks like Elijah, just a little bit.

"Finn, this is Elena. Elena, this is Finn." Elijah introduces, and she walks up to shake his hand. The older god looks thoughtful as he looks at her.

"It's nice to meet you." He says and Elena smiles.

"It's nice to meet you too." She says and Finn looks at Elijah.

"It is so odd to see you like that, little brother." He says and Elijah rolls his eyes. Finn moves out of the doorway to allow Elijah and Elena access into the house.

When Elena turns around, he's wearing his older face, as she calls it.

"Much better." Finn says, and Elena is dismayed that their slight height difference is exaggerated when Elijah changes his face.

"It's so odd to see you aged." She says and Elijah and Finn laugh. It's not mean, but Finn's face changes to something younger and he looks like her age.

"That's weird too, put your face back to how it was." She says and he does so with a laugh.

"You want me just to be seen with you around town?" Finn asks, face back in place.

"Indeed." Elijah says, and Finn nods.

"Let's go explore Mystic Falls!" Finn declares and Elena follows them out of the door again.

* * *

They go to the Grill, they walk around the Town Square and Elena drives them to her house. It's a little odd to think about as she drives, if she crashed, Elijah's first thought would be her, not himself or Finn. They'd be fine, and she could be dead. She tries not to think about it too much. Jenna's home, and immediately likes Finn. He's like Elijah, but not a teenage boy.

She asks if they can stay for dinner, and tries to figure out what kind of food they'd want.

They end up ordering Chinese food and sitting at the dining room table. It goes well, and if Elena didn't know her aunt was interested in her history teacher, she'd say Jenna was interested in Finn.

She's not, Jenna clarifies after Elena comes back from dropping them off. Finn is in a position similar to hers, Jenna says. He's not a parent, but he's raising a teenager too. It was nice to be reminded that she wasn't the only person going through that.

* * *

Stefan looks a little less smug when he sees Finn pick Elena and Elijah up from school. Finn gives off the same inhuman feeling he gets from Elijah, but he knows Damon won't believe him.

The rest of the week is fun, Elena tells Finn that Elijah's told her a few things about him and he jokes that he hopes they were all good things. Elena assures him that they were.

Finn is good at pretending to be human, and if it weren't for the calculated eyes and the vast knowledge he sometimes displays, she might have mistaken him for an ordinary human with a finite life. He tells Elena that if she ever needs help with anatomy or science homework, he's just a call away. She gets wrapped up in a conversation about medical science with the two brothers for a good majority of Thursday afternoon and it's only when Jenna calls that she remembers she should probably go home.

* * *

He stays until Sunday night and says he'll come back whenever Elijah needs him to, and Elena asks if she can hug him goodbye. She knows he's a god, she knows who he is and assumes what he thinks, and it's only been a few days, but she feels like she knows him well.

He hugs her and whispers something loud enough for her to hear. Jeremy is doing well. He'll be able to come home soon. Tears prick in her eyes and she thanks him before letting go. She blinks and Finn is gone.

* * *

"Oh my god. Halloween's tomorrow." Elena says when she picks him up. She usually keeps such good track of holidays, it just hit her.

"Well." Elijah drawls.

"We don't have school tomorrow, so if you want to do something tonight, Jenna would be fairly agreeable to that." He points out and she thinks of something they could do that night during classes.

There's costume contests, pumpkin carving competitions, trick or treating and haunted houses.

"Can we just stay in and watch scary movies?" She asks.

"Of course." He says.

She knows, she knows she needs to be more social and work on relationships other than the ones she has with Elijah and Jenna but she's not sure she's quite ready yet. Elijah has all the time in the world, it makes sense that he doesn't have a sense of urgency or want to push her to that.

* * *

He reminds her in that calm voice of his, that those movies were not real, and even if they were she would not be harmed by them. They have a deal. Elijah won't let her die from some horrible horror movie monsters or people. It's with that, that she's finally able to go to sleep after he leaves, around 2AM.


	18. Chapter 18

She remembers that she doesn't have school as she looks at her beeping phone. Elijah asks if she wants to watch a Halloween movie and go explore a nearby town for fun. Just because it is Halloween doesn't mean they have to dress up or celebrate directly.

She agrees to that and he tells her he'll be over in half an hour.

She's putting her jacket on when the doorbell rings. He has a box in one hand and a movie underneath it.

"I thought you might want to celebrate." He says and she smiles at him. She'll probably be up for it next year, but really it just reminds her that it's her first Halloween without her parents. She and Jenna will be in charge of the candy bowl. Jeremy will miss out on the Halloween parties and she'll miss the group costume the cheerleaders do every year.

"You were right." She tells him as she lets him in, and he sets the box on the island and puts the movie in.

"What's in the box?" She asks.

"Breakfast." He tells her as he skips through the commercials. She opens the box, it's not a hot breakfast then, she infers.

It's two cupcakes with Halloween themed frosting.

"That's not very healthy." She pretends to protest.

"But delicious." He points out as the main menu appears on the screen.

"One's for you and the other one was intended for Jenna." He says and she picks the one with more frosting. They sit on the couch as the movie begins.

* * *

She's never been out of Mystic Falls for very long, and while this town is hardly the best that the world has to offer, it's in or close to Elena's comfort level. That's what matters. The town is full of shops and restaurants, and Elena picks out a place to go eat lunch at later.

There's a candy shop that sells chocolate Jenna can never find in Mystic Falls, so Elena buys it. They explore a bookstore where people stare and Elena instinctively shrinks, but Elijah sticks close and tells her that they don't care. Very rarely do strangers actually care about the people they're staring at. They could just be locals surprised by visitors, it's going to be okay. She's okay.

She's significantly less tense after that, and they end up with more than a few books between them when they reach the register.

* * *

It's a good day, Elena thinks as they walk back to Elijah's car. Lunch was good, they found books she hasn't heard of before and she has plans after he drops her off at her house. Elijah stops for a moment and stares across the street at someone who stares at them too long. The woman continues walking after a couple seconds of staring and turns her head. Elena can only see the back of the woman, dark hair and a long black coat.

She doesn't ask, they're still in hearing range if the woman was supernatural and she's not stupid. If she was human, Elijah would have started talking. Elena loops her arm in his and they continue the walk back to his car. They really should develop a code, she muses as he moves his arm out of hers to unlock the car.

He drives, and she waits for him to speak. He has a better knowledge on if they're in or out of hearing range for anyone or anything.

"That woman was a vampire." He says casually and her eyes widen.

"Do you know who she is?" Elena asks. He has to think for a moment, hundreds of faces run through his mind as he makes a complete stop at a stop sign.

"Isobel Flemming. She was turned by Damon Salvatore a few years ago. I'm assuming he told her what to expect when she turned because she acted like she expected me. She was married to Alaric Saltzman." He says after a moment of thought.

"There was a missing person report filed, but she's been assumed dead for a few years now. Legally, Mr. Saltzman is a widower."

"Why do you think she's here? She's close but not too close to Mystic Falls." Elena notes and he has similar questions.

"If you want, we can keep an eye on it." Elijah offers and she nods.

"I know Jenna likes Mr. Saltzman. I don't want her to get hurt by anything. Especially not his undead wife." She says and Elijah nods.

* * *

He asks when they're safely in her house, if she would allow him to accompany her to the cemetery. Ordinarily he wouldn't intrude, but the last time she visited, there was someone. Her life was at risk last time, and the appearance of Isobel Flemming add up to a dangerous amount of unknown knowledge.

She tells him it's okay, as long as he doesn't listen too closely. He can agree to that, and she writes Jenna a note and puts the chocolate next to it. The books can stay in their bag by the coffee table.

* * *

She leads him, and it's so quiet that the only noise comes from the colorful leaves giving way under their feet. She's never seen another person be so respectful of a cemetery before. But he melts, he is so much less tense here and she remembers. This is part of his realm, after centuries he embraces these places. It's one of his places, he is at peace for a reason. It's humbling to see, and she carefully walks to her parents. She talks about him, he notes as he walks around the cemetery. He does his best not to listen, but she does mention him once, and he listened for a few seconds before determining that she was not talking about him.

There's someone else in the cemetary for a few seconds and Elena looks around for a moment. When Elijah appears in view, he hears them leave, does not see them.

* * *

"I think I prefer quiet, not creepy Halloweens." Elena notes and he agrees. Jenna is home when they return and when Elijah attempts to leave, Jenna asks him to stay or invite his brother to join them.

"Finn is out of town until midnight." Elijah says and Jenna tells him he has to stay, because she already ordered pizza and the next episode of their show is the Halloween special. So really, he has no choice.

Elena's impressed by how easily he accepts his fate, Jenna can be tenacious when she wants to be.


	19. Chapter 19

November passes quickly because they only three weeks of school. They do their homework and finish another season of their tv show with Jenna joining them occasionally.

They watch Mr. Saltzman, and know when Jenna discovers the hidden closet in the cabin. She's still torn on admitting to herself that the supernatural exists, but Elijah and Elena are carefully pushing her to that, steadily. Jenna has invited Finn and Elijah to Thanksgiving dinner because they don't have other plans. Stefan and Damon are still watching them, but they seem to be waiting than doing anything else. Elijah and Elena still keep watch over Isobel Saltzman, but she seems to be biding her time.

* * *

"Do you think we'll ever have a quiet week where nothing happens?" She asks him as they start the next episode.

"I think that because you are a doppelganger and I am a deity, it's going to be hard to have an entire week of peace." He answers honestly.

"So I'm not going to have a boring life?" She asks. He laughs.

"I think your life will be extraordinary." He says truthfully, and she smiles widely. That's reassuring. There's a knock on the door as the theme plays and they both turn their heads at the same time.

"I'll get it. Pause the episode." Elena requests, and Elijah does, and Elena opens the door. There's no one, a car drives away when she looks down. Flowers.

Elena brings it in, and Elijah closes the door as she carries it to the island.

"Maybe they're for Jenna." Elena says as they look for a card. Her blood runs cold and she freezes.

"To my beautiful daughter, Elena. Love, your mother." Elijah reads aloud and her eyes tear up.

"My parents are dead. Why would someone be this cruel?" She asks and he tells her that he doesn't know why.

They don't finish the episode. She tries to think if it matches handwriting she knows, and she asks him to leave before Jenna gets home. He agrees and tells her to be safe and before he can asks, she tells him she'll let him know if she finds something out.

* * *

Jenna is home late, and Elena falls asleep on the couch waiting for her. Jenna wakes her up and Elena gets ready for the next day with bleary eyes and falls asleep a few minutes after that. Jenna frowns at the flowers on the island, and the note attached. Well, it's only a matter of time, then, she thinks as she goes to work. She writes a note that she'll be home when Elena gets home from school and heads to work.

* * *

She looks for anyone who might have done it, sent her the flowers as a prank. There were a few people who had been a little on the mean side after her parents had died, but no one had been this cruel. She wonders why anyone would send the flowers this long after the funeral. Elijah drives himself, she had asked for him to. She wants to be alone after school, to talk to Jenna. He asks but she tells him that there's nothing. It's probably just a prank, not worth going to the police over.

Classes pass, Elijah worries that the flowers triggered Elena into an earlier state of her grieving process.

* * *

"Are Jeremy and I adopted?" She asks and Jenna's glad she set her drink down.

"What?"

"Are Jeremy and I adopted?" She repeats. It's one of her theories, and her entire world is blown to pieces when Jenna nods.

"You were adopted." Jenna admits.

"Jeremy and I?" Elena asks and Jenna shakes her head.

"No, not you and Jeremy. You were adopted. just you." Jenna says and the broken pieces fragment further.

"What?" Elena doesn't know if Jenna hears the question because she continues speaking.

"Your mom and dad were having a hard time having a baby and John brought a pregnant girl to your dad. She gave birth and your parents had been trying so hard, Elena." Jenna says and her eyes start to tear up.

"The girl didn't want to raise a daughter, she said she wasn't ready. John didn't want a baby either. Your birth parents were not your parents, but my sister and her husband were the parents who loved you and raised you. Jeremy was a happy surprise." Jenna says.

"You knew and you never told me?"

"I thought your parents were going to tell you when they wanted to! I never thought they'd die and I never thought I'd have to raise you and Jeremy or that Jeremy would be in rehab but I am trying my best here, Elena!" Jenna says, a few tears escaping to her cheeks.

"I know. I know you're doing your best and I get it. But this is kind of a big deal. All this time, and you never hinted or told me. You could have done it anytime." The nights they were alone together eating take out, or waiting for Jeremy to come home, nights where Elijah stayed for dinner, any time, they all flash through her mind.

"What was her name?" Elena asks, and Jenna racks her brain. She'll focus on the fact that the man she thought was her uncle her entire life is her birth father, but for now she needs a name. Something. Anything.

"I can't remember. Um-" Jenna trails off and thinks for a few moments.

"Iris, Ivana, it was I-something. Isabella, Isobel. Her name was Isobel. I can't remember how it was spelled." Jenna says and Elena doesn't think, just moves.

* * *

He opens his door and he knows Elena's upset but doesn't know the reason, at least not yet. He opens the door for her to come in.

"Did you know?" She demands, as he shuts the door.

"Did I know what?" Elijah asks and her eyes are wet.

"Did you know that I was adopted?" She asks and he pauses.

"No." He denies. She's all fire and bright eyes, angry at him and what she doesn't understand. He's only ever seen her sad or happy. Seeing her angry is something new, not in a good way.

"Really, because you almost always know everything." Elena says and he nods. He can't deny that.

"But I didn't look into your family tree before I made a deal with you. I assumed your recently deceased parents were your biological parents." He says and she tells him everything. He wonders if her biological mother is the one who sent the flowers.

* * *

Jenna calls Finn, and Finn finds them on the couch, Elena's eyes are not dry yet.

"Your aunt wants you to come home." Finn says and Elena nods weakly.

"Did you know?" Elena asks Finn.

"That you were born to people who didn't raise you? Not until recently. I knew when you were born, I knew the circumstances, but your birth mother wanted to call you something different than what the Gilberts named you. I didn't make the connection until a few moments ago." Finn tells her and she relaxes.

"Come on, let's get you home. Your aunt is worried about you. And yes, she is your aunt, regardless of blood or marriage." Finn says before she can say anything.

* * *

She drove to the Smith's because she was upset, she tells Jenna later that night. She apologizes, but when Jeremy returns to Mystic Falls, she thinks that they need to tell him. Jenna agrees, and apologizes.

It's okay, Elena says, but it's not until her head is on her pillow that she realizes that Isobel Flemming might be the Isobel she's looking for.


	20. Chapter 20

AN: They are in the week before break in November.

* * *

Jenna's phone wakes her up before her alarm does, and she groans and answers the call. It's about Jeremy and the fog clears from her mind. Gears start turning. She can call the office in a few minutes and after that she'll talk to Elena and see if she can take her niece with her.

The doorbell rings before she can talk to Elena. There's another vase of flowers on their porch when Jenna opens the door. Jenna brings it in, despite how much she thinks Elena might cling to it or smash it. She wonder if it's actually from Elena's birth mother. Elena had been quiet the night before after she returned home, and she walks up the stairs to Elena's room. Jeremy is ready to come home, and she needs to ask Elena a few questions. She plans to start with the easiest. Elena's fragile and Jenna knows she's the one who caused that, she's the one who hurt her. She needs to start repairing the damage in their relationship.

Elena's awake to her surprise, and so she begins her list of questions.

"Can I invite Elijah and Finn over for Thanksgiving? I don't think they have any plans and I don't want them to spend the holiday alone." Jenna says and Elena nods.

"I think they'd like that." She answers.

"Are you still mad at me for not telling you that you were adopted?"

"I'm not. I was. It hurts that my parents kept that from me and that you kept it from me, but you didn't think it was your secret to tell. I understand that, and I almost wish I could be angry at you, but I can't." It was nice to be angry for a while, to feel something other than fragile happiness or sadness. That'll change with time, she tells herself. Jenna nods at that and asks the next question.

"Do you mind if I call you in and say that you're sick? Jeremy's ready to come home and I want you to come pick him up with me." Jenna says and Elena smiles widely. There is some good news this week. Elena tells her she'll be ready in ten minutes, and Jenna knows, she knows she shouldn't just pull Elena out of school whenever she feels like it, but this is special. Plus the drive will provide them with time to talk.

"We can grab breakfast on the drive there." Jenna tells her when she walks downstairs. Elena glances at the flowers visible over Jenna's shoulder and Jenna tells her there isn't a card this time. Elena asks if she remember's Isobel's last name, but Jenna tells her that she doesn't but John would know.

"They'll still be here when we get back and I'll call John then too." Elena says as Jenna grabs her keys.

* * *

She missed Jeremy. Her journal is updated as Jenna drives, and she texts Elijah. Elijah tells her to have fun, and that he's collecting her assignments to bring over when she returns to Mystic Falls. She thanks him for that and apologizes about the lonely school day. He tells her that it's nothing.

Breakfast is bagels and coffee in Jenna's car. Elena picks the radio station and they sing along for a few songs before they talk about what they need to.

"I want to talk to John and Isobel if we can track Isobel down. I know they're not my real parents, but I do want answers." The words feel odd in her mouth, like a new food she's never had before.

"I need answers." She clarifies.

"We'll call John when we get Jeremy and see if we can get Isobel too." Jenna promises.

"Okay." Elena says and that's it for then. There's just more road, stretching out for what seems like eternity.

Elena finishes her journal entry when the place that Jeremy has lived for three months comes into view. They park, and walk to the main entrance where Jenna dropped him off so long ago.

Her aunt checks in as she looks around the interior of the strong brick building. Elena texts Elijah that she feels so excited that she might explode. He assures her that she will not, and if she does, he'll put her back together as she was before. Something moves out of the corner of her eye and she grins.

Jeremy gets almost tackled with a hug, and he hugs his sister just as fiercely. Jenna signs the necessary paperwork, and Elena thinks she sees someone she recognizes out of the corner of her eye.

"Good luck out there." A nurse says to her brother and she recognizes him. Finn, she thinks and she thanks the nurse. He winks when no one else looks and she sees his real face for a moment. Jeremy doesn't though, she notices as he calmly thanks the nurse for everything. She sends Finn a look of confusion and he shakes his head. Later. Not then, when she should be celebrating her brother.

Jenna hugs him too and they only let go when he complains that he'll be in another hospital because they'll break his ribs with the group hug.

* * *

Elena sits in the backseat with Jeremy's bag and they tell Jeremy that they have something to tell him.

"What is it?" He asks.

"I'm adopted." Elena says and he asks how long she's known.

"I just found out yesterday." Elena tells him. He relaxes.

"I'm your cousin technically. John is my biological father." Elena begins.

"Who's your biological mom?" Jeremy asks.

"Someone named Isobel, we think. We're going to call John when we get back to Mystic Falls and get some answers then." Jenna answers and he nods thoughtfully.

"You knew?" He asks, looking at Jenna. She nods.

"I thought your parents would tell you both when they thought the time was right." Jenna explains. Jeremy peers into the backseat and stares at Elena for a moment.

"You're still my sister. That's all that matters to me." He says and she smiles. She hadn't even thought about what she would do if Jeremy treated her differently because of it. She couldn't stand that.

"Thanks, Jer. It's good to have you back." She tells him.

"It's good to be back." He says, as they look to the road. Elena and Jenna take turns on filling him in on what he's missed, including Jenna's crush on their history teacher. Jenna turns red but they both notice that she doesn't deny it.

* * *

"Hey." Elena says, and she hears John greet her back as she stares at the flowers on the kitchen island. She usually doesn't call, something is wrong.

"Is everything okay with Jenna?" He asks. If Jenna's in the hospital or unable to care for her and Jeremy, he's next in line. He's expecting to be asked to Mystic Falls, he's not expecting to volunteer.

"I know that you're my biological father." Elena says.

"I'll be in Mystic Falls as soon as I can." He says before he hangs up.

"What'd he say?" Jenna asks. Elena looks at the expectant faces of Jeremy and Jenna.

"He said he'd come to Mystic Falls and then he hung up." Elena says.

"We could call back, but I have a feeling he won't answer his phone. You know how he is." Jenna says.

"Can Elijah come over to bring over my homework? Then we can ask about having them over for Thanksgiving." Elena says and Jenna nods.

Jeremy had tried to tease her about Elijah, but she tells him that she doesn't like him like that. Elijah is just a friend. He gives her a stack of paper and Jenna asks if he and Finn would like to come over for Thanksgiving after Elena thanks him. Elijah agrees to that and tells Jeremy it's nice to see him again.

"It's nice to be here again." Jeremy says. Her brother shifts his weight and she and Elijah can both see he's still wearing the necklace. That's good.

"I'll see both of you at school tomorrow." Elijah says and wishes them a good night. Jenna smiles, and Jeremy asks what's for dinner.


	21. Chapter 21

AN: I am so sorry about my lack of posting, I was working on femslash february fics. I will be updating regularly!

* * *

Alaric notices the shift in Elena and Elijah during his class, but it's not something either of them don't look guilty, he knows what guilty teenage faces look like. They both just look worried about something, together. They're quite the united front, he thinks as he passes back papers.

He's meeting Jenna after school to talk about Jeremy, he wonders if Elena knows that. Elena thanks him with a smile when he hands her a few papers. He notices the cheerleaders whispering and Stefan Salvatore looking at Elijah and Elena. According to the gossip in the teacher's lounge, Stefan Salvatore and Elena Gilbert went on two dates, and then she broke up with him. Stefan still likes her but Elena's either moved on to Elijah or is just uninterested in dating. Interesting. He decides to mention it to Jenna when he sees her, if he needs to make sure Stefan and Elena are on opposite ends of the classroom, he will.

* * *

She almost can't control her breathing at lunch, John is in Mystic Falls and her mind has been running wild with the possibilities.

"He's just here to give you answers. He's not going to take you away. Jenna won't allow it." He assures her. He wishes to remind her that he will not let it happen either, but Stefan Salvatore is watching carefully. Jeremy is moving through the lunch line, he'll join them in a few minutes.

"What if my-what if Isobel's dead?" She asks him.

"Then Isobel is dead, and she did not get the chance to meet you." He says simply. She wants to know if he knows, but can't say. There are other ears trying to listen in, human and supernatural. She feels like everyone in the room is staring at them and trying to listen in.

"I hope she's not." Elena says instead and starts a list of questions for the next hour's note.

"Can you come with me? Jeremy has to stay after school with his math teacher and Jenna will be here to meet Mr. Saltzman and take Jeremy home." Elena tells him.

"Of course." She has a good reason for her fears but his presence while she talks to her biological father might make things more awkward than they already are. Either way, he'll be there for her. Jeremy grins and Elena moves her bag when he arrives at the table.

They part ways when the bell rings, and Elena quickly starts a note when they reach their desks.

* * *

"I'll walk with you to your locker." He says when the final bell rings and she nods. They move just quickly enough to avoid Stefan and Elena grabs the next book she needs and they move to the parking lot.

* * *

John's already in their house and he opens his mouth when he sees Elena. He closes it when he sees Elijah. The god introduces himself and Elena notices that John looks at Elijah like he's seen him before. It doesn't escape her notice that Elijah glances at John's ring when the younger man focuses on Elena.

"Don't you want to have a private conversation?" John asks and Elena exhales.

"Elijah's my best friend. He's going to hear it anyway." Elena tells him and John stares at Elijah for a long moment.

"Tell me about Isobel." Elena prompts and John sighs.

"We were teenagers. We were reckless and she didn't want a child. I didn't either." John begins and Elena tells him that she already heard that, she wants to know what Isobel acted like, how she is now, where she is.

"Isobel was nice. She was always interested in history and mythology. We kept in contact after you were born, after a year or two. She went to Duke and taught there. For the last few years, she's been traveling around.

Elena glances in Elijah's direction and he almost nods. It sounds odd to him too, there not very many details in John's description of Isobel.

"What's her last name?" Elena asks.

"Flemming." John says. He regrets the fact that he wasn't the one to marry her, she'll never be Isobel Saltzman to him. Plus, Elena might connect the dots to her history teacher and he needs to figure out how much she knows.

He catches the look Elena sends Elijah.

"How did you find out? You didn't say when you called." John says.

"You didn't give me the opportunity." Elena retorts and he looks at her with those pale eyes of his.

"This is how I found out." She tells him and plucks the card out of the flowers still on the island. She hands it to John and waits.

"Did you know she was going to do this?" She gestures to the flowers and John shakes his head.

"I thought your parents were going to tell you. After they died, I didn't discuss it with Jenna or even the possibility with Isobel." John says and Elena shakes her head.

"I want to meet her." Elena says. John looks at Elena and Elijah. There's a feeling he can't write off, and he stares at Elijah a few seconds longer. He has to know something, Elijah looks like a supportive teenage boy but there's something sharp underneath that.

"I know she's close to Mystic Falls, I want to meet her." Elena tells him and he has the good grace to feign surprise. He recognizes the handwriting, it is Isobel's.

"The flower shop that sent these is in Mystic Falls and they only do in store transactions." Elena says simply. Last year, she and Bonnie had gotten boutonnieres from there, and paid in cash. The flowers had been perfect, worth every penny at the time.

Elijah wants to compliment her later, she could have told John they saw her and given them away.

"I'll set something up." John says and Elena nods as he hands back the card.

"Okay." Elena says and he sees himself out. Her eyes meet Elijah's.

"According to Jenna, we have forty minutes until she and Jeremy get home." She says and he nods. They have a lot to talk about. They need a game plan before he leaves before they get home.

* * *

"I was thinking about going through a few of the rooms at the lake house this weekend." Jenna says as she gets a slice of pizza and Jeremy looks interested.

"Family trip?" He asks and she shakes her head.

"Just me. I'd only be gone for a few hours." Jenna says and she knows Elena's responsible and Jeremy is better. She wants to show them that she can trust them, and she needs to have alone time to work on her grieving process.

"Sounds cool." Jeremy says and takes a few breadsticks.

"How'd talking to your teachers go?" Elena asks.

"I'm pretty sure she was flirting with Mr. Saltzman." Jeremy teases and Jenna reddens.

"I was not!" She denies and Jeremy and Elena laugh.

"Sure you weren't, Jenna." Elena says, and Jenna gives them a dirty look. They just laugh.

"Let me know if John actually does contact this Isobel and wants to set up a meeting." Jenna changes the topic and they let the subject of Alaric drop.

* * *

The next few days are just waiting, and Jeremy accepts Elijah's presence in their house after school.

"Do you like my sister?" He asks Friday afternoon. Elijah pauses.

"I like your sister because she's my friend, but I do not have any romantic interest in her. She does not have any romantic interest in me." Elijah informs him and Jeremy nods. Elena walks back downstairs as her phone buzzes. Jenna wants to know their orders for Mexican food, and if Finn's available to join them.

* * *

It's so odd to see Finn again after seeing him with a different face. She wonders if they'll ever tell Jeremy and Jenna. Jenna talks and they all listen, and it's another quiet Friday night. Finn compliments her on her choice in food, and Jenna beams at him. The Smiths are starting to grow on Jeremy, he tells Elena as they watch the two gods drive away.

Elena feels like she's always waiting, waiting for something to happen. That might just be anxiety though, and she tries not to think about it as she tries to fall asleep. She gets up to pace and sees someone in the street, she moves her curtain to see them. They disappear. Elena yawns and decides she'll tell Elijah in the morning, it's probably nothing.


	22. Chapter 22

AN: Find the Easter Egg. Sorry this took so long.

* * *

Saturday, Elijah comes over when Jenna leaves. Jeremy's sleeping in, and she tells him about the figure outside her window the night before. He tells her he remembered something while the rest of the world slept. John has a ring that prevents him from dying a supernatural death. He's seen John a few times before he disappeared. Jenna has one of the rings and unknowingly gave it to Jeremy.

"At least we know it's with Jeremy." Elena says before her phone rings.

"Your mother would like to meet you at the Grill." John doesn't bother with a greeting.

"What time?" If John's not going to bother with formalities she isn't going to either.

"Noon." John says and hangs up. Elena sighs.

"I was hoping we could have a quiet day. Just once." Elena says and Elijah nods. They start to brainstorm.

* * *

The journals go back to the Civil War, and they all sound genuine. The most recent journal is from her own sister. She sighs, and takes a shelf of books downstairs with her. She knows she should probably be more careful, one of the women from the Historical Society would probably scold her for how she's treating the books, but she doesn't actually care. She just cares about the truth.

* * *

Elijah convinced her to eat breakfast, but she's not hungry for lunch.

"Do you want me to drive?" Elijah asks. Elena shakes her head.

"I do need to talk to Jeremy before we leave, though." She walks upstairs and knocks on Jeremy's door.

"Jer, we're going to the Grill for lunch, do you want us to bring you anything?" She asks and she hears a muffled answer of no.

"Okay. Call me if you need anything." She reminds him, and walks back down the stairs, keys in hand.

"Let's go." She says.

* * *

There's something wrong with Elena and her friend, John had told her. The friend doesn't seem like a real teenager and he looked familiar to John. So her daughter's finally befriended the supernatural, that's interesting. Isobel wonders idly, if she'll have to explain to supernatural to Elena and possibly her friend. She sips her water and waits for the girl who matches the pictures John sent to walk through the doors. She's been there for ten minutes precisely when her Petrova doppelganger daughter and the supernatural being she calls her best friend walk through the door. She wonders if the Gilberts ever considered the name she wanted instead of Elena. She waves an immortal hand, and Elena blanches, but not enough for a human to notice. The friend, possibly a boyfriend encourages her to keep going, and walks with her to the table.

"Elena." She tries to make an attempt at a smile that resembles human warmth. She's fairly sure it didn't work.

"Isobel." Elena says, but it's tinged with hesitancy. She's glad the girl across from her didn't gives her the title of mother. It's not a title or responsibility she ever wanted.

"Who's your friend?" Isobel asks and Elijah introduces himself.

"I'm going to tell him everything anyway, so he might as well be here." Isobel hears Elena say, and looks at him a moment longer. He's not human, but he's not a vampire either. He's powerful, but she can't figure out in what capacity, what feeds that power. Her daughter brought a bodyguard and emotional support, all wrapped in one. Interesting, she thinks. Very interesting.

"What do you know about the supernatural?" Isobel prods. If this goes badly, she can always compel the two to forget.

"Like the CW show?" Elena asks and Elijah resists the urge to laugh.

"Like vampires and werewolves." Isobel keeps her voice low.

"I know they exist and I know they're among us." Elena says, and Isobel's eyes widen.

"Do you know you're the third person to look exactly like that?" Isobel goes for what she the thinks is the jugular, Elijah thinks.

"I'm the latest Petrova doppelganger. The first was Tatia and the second was Katherine or Katerina." Elena does her best to imitate Elijah's way of saying it, the one time she had heard it.

"Interesting." Isobel muses aloud.

"What's good to eat here?" Isobel's voice is louder, Elijah sees a waitress walking to their table. She's playing an interesting game and she's not afraid to put her daughter in the crossfire, he recognizes. He glances at her when the waitress asks what they want to drink, and he realizes she has her emotions off or at least stunted. He wonders if Isobel actually has any feelings for Elena at all. He's not the only one.

"I'll just have water." Elijah tells the waitress and Elena and Isobel both order the same soda. Elena's not the only one to notice. Elijah glances around the restaurant, he and Isobel are the only immortals and the only supernatural beings in the building are at their table.

"I'll be right back with those drinks." The waitress promises and they look at the menu.

"The burgers are good." Elena answers, and Isobel looks at her with calculating eyes. She's glad Elijah's there, she's gone over this dozens of times in her mind, and none of the scenarios came close to this. It's a game. It's all just a game to Isobel, and she seems to enjoy it is the worst part.

"Do we age that well or-" Elena trails off, because Isobel is a vampire, and she wants to see how she responds.

"I'm a vampire. You should consider it, running around with the actual supernatural beings must be dangerous for you." She's not the mother she ever had the capacity to be, and she writes in the lines to Elena that she doesn't want to ever have that title with the sharp slice of her words. Elena's not sure she'd want her anyway.

"Why? Why'd you-" Elena trails off. Elijah doesn't move or say anything, but she appreciates his presence. She is not in danger of any pain other than emotional.

"You must have thought about it." Isobel says and Elena shakes her head.

"No. Not once." She denies.

"That's what Katherine and I did. Being a vampire makes you a little more-" She searches for the right word.

"Immune to things." She finishes. She'll let Elena come to her own conclusions with that statement.

"You've met Katherine?" Elena fishes. Isobel nods and looks at Elijah.

"You look remarkably calm about all of this." Isobel addresses Elijah.

"I already knew about the supernatural. I know everything Elena does." Elijah says simply. Isobel looks at them for a long moment.

"Here are your burgers." Their waitress interrupts the uncomfortable pause of silence and Elena exhales.

"Thank you." Elena addresses the blonde waitress who doesn't notice the tension at the table.

"Do you guys need anything else? Refills?" The waitress asks and Isobel shakes her head.

"We're fine, thank you." Elena says, unsure if anyone else considers speaking.

"Alright, enjoy your meal." The blonde says, and flashes the table a smile before she walks off. Elena attempts a smile but it fades when Isobel speaks again.

"I have met Katherine. You look _just_ like her. I can understand why she's so interested in you." Isobel begins and Elena freezes. Isobel continues anyway, intentional ice shards in her tone to cut Elena.

"I didn't want to be a mother, I already knew about vampires and I wanted to be one. My list of reasons is long, but those are the reasons you want. It's much easier to hear. There were events in between my reasons, but that's what you need to know." Isobel says. She doesn't eat anything, and she's only sipped at her soda twice, Elijah notes. Elena doesn't do anything but stare at Isobel, confused and vulnerable. Isobel could completely annihilate Elena and Elijah suspects Elena would let her.

"It was nice to meet you two. I suspect we'll see each other again soon." Isobel says, her voice chilly and tells them that she'll pay for the bill. Elena looks at her fries at picks one up halfheartedly. Elijah's eyes follow Isobel.

"That could have been worse." She admits with a tired sigh. Elijah nods as Isobel hands their waitress two crisp bills as she passes her and tells her to keep the change.

"It could have gone a lot better too." He says as they watch Isobel walk out of the door. Elena halfheartedly eats fries until Elijah says Isobel can't hear.

"Do you think Alaric knows she's back in town?" Elena asks and Elijah shakes his head. Elena doesn't touch her soda or Isobel's almost untouched glass either. Elena just eats, a little mechanically.

"Even if we could, we can't interfere." Elijah reminds her gently.

"I'm fine." Elena says and Elijah knows she means it. He's just not sure if that's true or not.

She eats a few more fries and excuses herself to the bathroom. HE waits until she comes back then they leave the table, and walk out of the Grill. He waits for an explanation as Elena hands him her keys, but she doesn't sit in the driver's seat. She opens the passenger door and she's utterly calm as she carefully puts on her seatbelt and she closes the passenger door. The utter calm cracks, though and a tear escapes. Then another.

He starts the engine and begins to drive. He uses his phone at a stop sign, but he's a safe driver. At least there's that, Elena thinks distantly. Elijah doesn't drive Elena home like she expects, he drives her to the house he uses for show. She sees Finn open the door. Elijah helps her out of the car and to the door.

Finn wraps sturdy arms around her and Elijah locks the car.

* * *

He's never forgotten how alive humans are, how warm and fidgety they are, but Elena shudders as she tries to speak.

"Did she ever care?" She asks Finn because he has to know, he just _has_ to. He nods.

"Isobel cared about a few things when she was human, but she became obsessed with vampires. She doesn't feel very much or anything at all at this point." Finn says carefully.

"Elena, it's important that you remember that your mother, the one who loved you more than anything is the mother that matters. Isobel only gave birth to you. Miranda Gilbert raised you and loved you." Elijah says and she had felt such hope, Isobel brought so many possibilites with her, and it's gone. It's all gone and she was stupid, stupid, stupid for thinking her birth mother might want her. She was stupid for thinking she might have someone to answer the questions that have plagued her since she found out she was adopted. Maybe no one actually wants her. Her old friends don't want her, no one in Mystic Falls who isn't obligated to like her cares, and not even the woman who gave birth to her wants anything to do with her.

"It is her loss that she does not care for you and see how good you are." Finn murmurs as Elena sniffles. She lets go of Finn, and he makes sure she's safely on the couch as he moves away. Elena likes tea, he remembers. Finn disappears and her eyes widen as someone she's never seen before sits next to her on the couch. She's blonde and her eyes are warm, looking at Elena with sympathy.

"You can call me Rebekah." She says and smiles at her. Another tear escapes and Rebekah shakes her head.

"It is not your fault. It is not your fault Isobel doesn't love you. She doesn't feel anything right now. I am not excusing her actions and I know how badly you wanted this to go well, but you are strong. You are resilient, Elena. You are full of love, and it's her loss. Okay? Just because one person doesn't love you doesn't mean the rest of the world isn't falling in love with you." Rebekah _means_ it and a few more tears escape.

"You have value. You are valuable and loved and beautiful. This will be okay, and you will move past it. I promise you, you will be happier than you think is ever possible someday." Rebekah promises. Finn walks back into the room with a mug full of tea and his eyes move in Rebekah's direction but Elijah shakes his head subtly. It's not the time to interrupt whatever Rebekah is trying to do. Finn hands her the mug and she smiles at him and thanks him.

"Why do you say that? Why come to see me? I'm nobody." Elena asks. Rebekah reaches for her free hand.

"I'm going to make sure it happens. You deserve a life full of love and happiness. You could never be a nobody. You're too special for that. " Rebekah says and a few more tears escape her eyes. This time, they're not sad tears. Rebekah eventually explains, that she could feel Elena's misery, and knew it wouldn't do. Plus, she wanted to meet the girl who sold her soul to her older brother. The mug of tea is warm, and she doesn't leave for a while. It takes a little convincing for her to leave the warm atmosphere, the siblings who genuinely care about her, and for her to get the salt off her face.

* * *

There are _pictures_ of vampires and of them being staked in a few of the journals.

This can't be real.

She leaves the books where they are when she realizes she's been gone for much longer than she had planned, but even as she leaves, she still puts a stake and one of the journals in her purse. She's going to get to bottom of this, even if it kills her.


	23. Chapter 23

He drops the bag and papers escape.

"Hello Ric." The woman says, looking at him like she hasn't been gone for years, like he hasn't looked for her and missed her. There's something cold in her eyes though, it's unfamiliar.

"Isobel." He says because that's the only thing that escapes his throat. The questions he's had for weeks and years are jammed in his throat. The papers are back in the bag and the bag is in his hand before he comprehends it.

"You're a vampire." He manages. Isobel smiles, and there's ice in it.

"You should invite me in. We have a lot to talk about." His wife says and he stares at her.

* * *

Jenna seems a little off when she gets home, but Elena and Jeremy help her pull dinner together and Elena manages to tell them about the meeting with Isobel. It's not a good idea to meet anyone alone, especially strangers, and Jenna wishes Elena called but she can't fault her for going. Elena omits the supernatural parts and Jenna requests that Elena tell her the next time she sees or meets Isobel. At least Elena brought Elijah with her, at least there's that. She wants to meet this woman too. The air is tense and Elena nods.

"Yeah, of course." She says and Jenna wonders if she's going crazy, Elena and Jeremy have no idea the supernatural might exist. Jeremy is quick to switch topics to break. There's a Founder's event tomorrow to celebrate how the Founding Families celebrated Thanksgiving and they'll have to go.

"Right. I forgot about that." Jenna says. All three of them are keeping secrets with smiles.

"You should invite Finn and Elijah to come with us." Jeremy suggests and Elena looks at Jenna for approval.

"That sounds great." Jenna says, a little more enthusiastic than usual. Elena and Jeremy give her odd looks and she makes an excuse involving coffee. The night is quiet, and Jenna gets ready to sleep before Jeremy and Elena do. Elena's phone buzzes with a text from Elijah. He and Finn and promise to go with them to the festivities.

"Jeremy." Elena says quietly, knocking on his door. She needs to tell him, he needs to be aware of Isobel. She needs someone else to help keep them safe and Jeremy hates vampires. It's perfect.

"Yeah?" He asks, and opens the door.

"Isobel is a vampire. Jenna still doesn't know they exist. We have to make sure she doesn't invite Isobel in." Elena says and his eyes widen.

"She's a vampire?" He asks. His sister nods.

"She told me herself and she still looks really young. It makes sense." Elena says and they decide to make sure to put vervain in Jenna's coffee and they'll prevent Isobel from entering their house somehow. Elena lets Elijah know, and tells him that she'll see him tomorrow. She falls asleep before he wishes her sweet dreams.

* * *

It's bright but windy and he can hear someone curse the weather.

"I think I see Jenna. Excuse me for a moment." Finn says and Elijah nods. He knows his brother enjoys spending time with Jenna and Jenna enjoys spending time with him too. He looks away from Finn walking to the Gilberts and their aunt. There's a girl with familiar features walking to him and he knows it's not the girl most assume she is. Her walk is too confident, she's not wearing the correct shoes and Elena doesn't smile at him like that. He notices all of these things before he hears her heartbeat and smells the wrong perfume.

"Hello Elijah." She mimics Elena's voice enough to fool most but he knows who she is. If Katerina wants to play games, he will beat her at every single one she comes up with.

"Elena, is that Katherine with Jeremy and Jenna?" He inquires as he looks to where Finn is and her eyes widen but he sees the smugness in them. Katerina thinks she's won. Not by a long shot. He takes her arm, a little harder than he would take Elena's and moves her out of sight, and Katherine makes an attempt to try and move but he tells her that Katherine will be taken care of in due time. She's not as good as she thinks she is, and it's amusing because he knows she thinks she's victorious. The game changes when he sees Isobel and John, closer to Finn and Elena's family than he is. He needs to take care of Katherine and he needs Finn to hear him.

"Isobel must be working with Katherine." He realizes aloud, and he can see Finn nod and the look on Katherine's face. This is an interesting situation. He moves Katherine into an alley between two buildings, quickly enough that most wouldn't notice but slowly enough that no one would suspect supernatural activity. They're out of sight, and he moves the vampire against the brick wall. He shows the face she saw before she transitioned into being a vampire centuries ago. She blanches visibly and tries to escape the grip he has on her arm.

"I recommend you call off your lackeys." He says simply and lets her go. She moves faster than human eyes could see her, and he hears Isobel threaten Elena and her loved ones quietly enough that only Elena and Finn can hear. Elena blanches and shakes her head.

His face is the one Elena's accustomed to when he steps out of the alley. Elijah walks quickly, eager to separate Isobel from Elena.

"Isobel, please don't." She says, there's fear in Elena's voice and he sees Jeremy and Jenna's confusion, John moving in the crowd. He notes all of the vampires he sees, the four by Jeremy, Finn and Jenna, the one next to Alaric, the three next to John, and Katherine starts to speak. He doesn't need everyone staring, but if Katerina and Isobel think they can kill anyone they are sorely mistaken.

"We need to go." Katherine says as urgently as she can. Katherine glances at Elijah who offers a friendly smile in her direction. She knows, but he knows she won't tell. He can kill her with a twitch of his fingers, she's on her best behavior now.

"Now?" Isobel wonders.

"As in right now, and never coming back. We are leaving." Katerina has her hand around Isobel's arm and Elijah can see the vampires around the humans Elena cares about start to move. Katerina has seniority, they listen to her.

"Fine." Isobel says easily, looking at Elena, and Elijah knows she wants to hurt Elena just a little bit more, and it reminds him of when vampires dig their fangs in. The instinct is probably closely related for Isobel. She opens her mouth.

"Now." Elijah suggests quietly enough for the vampires to hear, and Katerina takes Isobel and walks away at a human pace. The other vampires follow, more discreetly than the two undead Petrovas.

"What the hell was that?" Jenna wonders and Elena looks to Elijah then to Finn.

Crisis is averted, but they still have to deal with the fallout.


	24. Chapter 24

AN: I did write a really cold Isobel, but I really did like how they handled the Isobel/Alaric relationship on the show for the most part. Dedicated to Caitlin.

* * *

It's so bizarre to think about. Elena Gilbert is Isobel's daughter and he has too many thoughts in his mind. He doesn't know if he's thankful he never had children with Isobel or not, he wonders if she would have abandoned them like she abandoned Elena. He's not expecting a knock at his door during the middle of whatever event this town has to celebrate Thanksgiving the day before the actual holiday. He thought he was one of the only people if not the only person home instead of celebrating. He's in a mess of papers and quizzes he's been trying to grade for the last hour and a few fly around with the sudden movement of him moving to answer the door.

"-have to do one more thing." He hears a familiar voice say as he opens the door.

"Alaric." Isobel says, her lips move in something that's a pitiful imitation of a genuine smile. Her eyes are like ice chips, and he has so many things to ask her but his mind goes blank when she says his name. Those ice chips of hers peer into his eyes and he realizes that he didn't touch his coffee yet. There's no vervain in his system and she could kill him or make him do something truly terrible. He moves his head, but he knows something will happen either way.

"Look at me." She says and he can't help but do it, he feels like the fool he hated himself for being for so long.

"You need to move on because I am completely fine. I chose this and it was my choice and not your fault. You don't care about me anymore. Never take that ring off and find someone you like and be happy." Isobel says, and he nods.

The compulsion breaks when she looks away but she's still very close, and he almost misses the next thing she says.

"You don't owe me anything. But if you could look after Elena, that would-" Isobel trails off and he sees Elena standing outside the threshold. So that's who she was talking to. Elena looks at him curiously, like she's never seen him before. This doesn't make sense, he recognizes through the compulsion fog. He wants to fight it, but he can't. He can ask his question though, so he does.

"Why isn't she with Jenna?" Alaric asks and Isobel lets out a short, harsh laugh.

"That's not Elena. It's a long story, Ric, I'm sure you'll get to the bottom of it. Goodbye." Isobel says, and the door shuts with enough force to make a few more quizzes fly up.

He just stands there for a moment.

* * *

"So Isobel had another daughter who looks almost like Elena and-" Jenna trails off, the story sounds so bizarre. She knows stranger things have happened in Mystic Falls though, and Elena helps Elijah and Finn explain again. Jeremy shoots his sister a look, and she nods. She'll give him the truth later, but for now they need Jenna to believe them.

"What did she want?" Jenna asks, and Elena answers.

"She wanted me to come with her. Something must have spooked her."

"Probably Sheriff Forbes, there are a few patrols around here." Jenna says absentmindedly.

"That's probably it." Finn says and she moves forward to hug Elena.

"I'm sorry about all of this. I'm glad you're safe." Her aunt says and Elena closes her eyes for a moment.

"It's okay." Elena says and they break apart when they hear someone call Jenna's name.

Elena, Jeremy and Elena all move their heads at the same time to the quiet amusement of Finn and Elijah. The three are definitely related, regardless of blood. A familiar face comes into view and they all hear Jenna quietly groan before steeling herself, she's ready to deal with Logan Fell.

* * *

It's a quiet day after the ridiculous amount of things the Lockwoods coordinated.

"I'm going to go to bed, do you guys need anything?" Jenna asks and Jeremy and Elena shake their heads. The Smiths are coming over the next day for Thanksgiving, but she tells Jeremy everything about Katherine and Isobel that she found out without Elijah.

There are some things she knows that she wouldn't be able to explain, but someday she promises herself. Someday she'll come clean to Jeremy about everything but for now he knows enough to keep him safe and that's what matters.


	25. Chapter 25

AN: I'm taking liberties with the Gilbert parents here. Dedicated to Caitlin.

* * *

Jenna begins making coffee as soon as she can get herself out of bed, and Elena helps her organize the fridge and oven. Jenna ordered most of their Thanksgiving dinner already made, she just needs it to be delivered on time.

"Should we wake up Jeremy?" Elena asks and Jenna shakes her head.

"He needs the sleep. Plus I think he has a growth spurt or two left." Jenna answers and Elena gets the ingredients out to make her mother's favorite pie. She needs something to do and Jenna doesn't mind it.

"Finn and Elijah are coming over in three hours. Do you want me to help you?" Jenna wonders and Elena shrugs.

"If you want." She offers Jenna an out if she wants it and Jenna nods.

"I promise not to burn it." Jenna says solemnly and they go to work, measuring ingredients and mixing. It's kind of nice and it reminds her of her mom, it's fitting that Jenna's helping her with this. They work into a rhythm and Jeremy walks downstairs five minutes before the pie needs to be taken out of the oven.

"What are you guys doing?" Jeremy asks and she remembers when she used to walk downstairs with him and ask her mother the same thing before she'd give the same response she gave every year.

"We made mom's pie." Elena answers and she gives a half smile as she feels tears trying to escape her eyes. It smells like so many memories she cried over, she'll never have her mother make that again or see her or talk to her and it crushes her for a moment. Elena wants to let herself be crushed by her grief, but she has to keep it together.

"I bet it'll taste great." Jeremy says because he can't think of anything else to say. The doorbell saves Elena from responding. That must be the delivery people, so she lets Jenna answer the door.

* * *

The finishing touches look good, and Jenna's fixing the dishes to make space for the cooled pie. Jeremy opens the door. Finn smiles at the Gilberts and Jenna, and Elena sees Elijah smile reassuringly at her. One day, she thinks as she fakes a smile, it won't be so hard. One day she'll look back at the memories of her parents and be thankful to have them, and she'll be able to smile. But for now, she wants to cry because they should be here, they promised they'd be there, and it still hurts.

"This all looks wonderful, Jenna." Finn compliments and Jeremy tries to hide a snort.

"Elena made the pie." Jenna says and Elena shakes her head.

"Jenna and I made it together." Elena corrects and Jenna laughs.

"I don't cook very well. But my sister always made this for Thanksgiving and it doesn't feel like it's really turkey day without it." Jenna says.

"It's an apple pie with a lot of caramel and cinnamon. It's really good." Jeremy speaks from experience. Elijah finds it interesting that this country celebrates genocide with the death and consumption of birds and pigs, but there have been stranger holidays, he supposes. Plates get passed around and Finn can tell Elena's not doing well. This is a lot, and he sends her a reassuring smile as he passes Jenna the mashed potatoes.

* * *

He finds himself on the couch with Elena and Jeremy who are groaning about eating too much. He lets out a laugh, and Jenna hands him a piece of pie. He moves a precisely cut forkful into his mouth and chews. It is a symphony of flavors and textures orchestrated by grief.

"It's perfect." Elijah says after he swallows and Finn makes a noise of agreement. Elijah wonders if he should tell Elena his theory, if that's just rude and malicious or if she should know. He'll ask when they return to school, for now he wants to enjoy the pie and how happy everyone is over this strange holiday.

Jenna groans from the table after Elijah's finished his last bite of pie.

"Logan Fell texted me again." She tells the room.

"Who's Logan Fell?" Elijah asks curiously and Jenna sighs.

"We dated and we were pretty serious until I walked in on him cheating on me. I broke it off and moved away from Mystic Falls and I didn't really look back for a few years." Jenna explains and Jeremy adds his own helpful comment.

"The dude's a dick, and he's a local news reporter."

"Why is he texting you?" Elena looks to her aunt.

"He wants to meet sometime soon apparently. He saw me yesterday and I quote "couldn't stop thinking" about me." Jenna reads and Elena and Jeremy frown at the same time.

"Don't worry guys, I'm telling him no." Jenna assures them all.

* * *

Their lives may be a mess but it least they don't have Logan Fell in it. The Smiths end up leaving a few hours later, after everyone sleeps off all the food they ate.


End file.
